John Allen, the noted journalist who has covered the Vatican for years for the National Catholic Reporter, will be leaving that weekly paper to take a new post with the Boston Globe. Allen will join the Globe in February. His new job could involve the creation of a new publication devoted to Catholic issues and published by the secular newspaper.
In announcing the hiring of Allen, Globe editor Brian McGrory said that the veteran journalist would be serving the Boston daily as an analyst covering Catholic affairs.
However, the Globe editor added:
He will also help us explore the very real possibility of launching a free-standing publication devoted to Catholicism, drawing in other correspondents and leading voices from near and far.Allen, who has emerged as the foremost Vatican journalist in the English-speaking world, has written several popular books and served as an analyst for the CNN television network along with his regular coverage for the National Catholic Reporter.