Why the hostility to John Allen? His reports cover aspects of the Vatican NOBODY ELSE seems to be interested in, and he is not a flaming liberal like so many at NCR.
There is simply no other Catholic paper that provides his perspective.
I read the NCR, regularly. Much of it is goofy stuff, but there are usually two or three articles that are worth reading. Allen's is always among those.
I can't agree with you about John Allen. The mere length of his article would be enough to raise my suspicions over whether he means to report or promote 'Unitarianism' in the Catholic church. I agree that the National Catholic Reporter is no more offensive than the bishops' Catholic New Service. I periodically skim both to know what they're planning next for the flock.