The future Roman Catholic Church: global tales from the 21st century

THE FUTURE CHURCH
How ten trends are revolutionising the Catholic Church
By John L. Allen Jr.. Doubleday. 480 pages. £18.02
ISBN 978-0-38552-038-6

What will the Roman Catholic (RC) Church be like at the end of the 21st century? How will this institution be able to handle the multiple challenges that she is confronted with? More radically, will this church be still around in 100 years? And, if yes, how different will she be compared with her present-day outlook?

These intriguing questions get some ever more intriguing answers by the CNN Vatican correspondent John L. Allen in his recent book The Future Church. Allen writes as a journalist and sociologist of religion who looks at what is happening in the RC universe within the context of a fast moving globalisation.