Allen's good; in fact, he's the best reporter on all things Vatican, which is why he's the "go-to" guy when everybody else wants to know what's going on in Rome.
"The pope went on to say that he believed the United States was among a handful of countries where the vision of the Second Vatican Council for parish life was fully realized."
I would most firmly hope that this statement is badly misquoted out of context. As to the disaster whcih has struck most US parishes over the past 40 years is reviewed, we do infact find a general pattern of destruction of traditional parish societies, public devotions, tradition, etc., ad nauseum.
As a matter of fact the more that statement is read - in light of the church closings, invalid/disrespectful masses, heresies preached from pulpits, it becomes even more pathetic. The NCR is not exactly noted for being in touch with Roman Catholic orthodoxy of faith or practice in any way shape of manner. Rather, it has the very sad reputation for pandering to a plethora of liberal causes and every manner of dissent - sometimes very cleverly couched in seemingly middle-of-the-road language.
The possible conclusions one could reach include: a) the NCR is mis-stating the truth & either misquoting or paraphrasing the Pope's comments grossly out of context, b) the Holy Father has lost his mind, or c)by inference Vatican II advocates the closing of parishes, sex scandals, loss of worshippers by the thousands, etc., etc.
While the humorist in me would want to check options a, b, and c (!), the realist in me leads me to believe "A" as the truth. AS noted above, the NCR is not known for its orthodoxy, support for the Pope (or the papacy in general), etc.
With reference to Europe, what Allen is writing about their parishes is a patent lie! I have relatives and friends in Europe. While the numbers of church going Catholics in Europe has declined overall, and many urban churches might indeed be devoid of parish societies (not unlike here), outside urban areas the parishes have a strong life.
In rural areas, if the roof needs repair, the men of the village do it! they do not hire the "approved diocesan contractor"! Parish life - indeed. For those who are strong in the faith, the parish is the center of their life.
As to the youth, many of them have patterned themselves after US kids - and religion is not a part of their lives. But for those of them who are religious, it is very important to them.
I notice Allen is getting lots of good press. Pat Buchanan, or someone equally surprising, as I recall, was just saying some good things about him the other day. He seems to be a real reporter. Of course some might argue that a "real reporter" is someone who spends their time getting drunk in the bar and filing copy that someone gives them as a way to "spin" the latest issues, but I'm thinking of a "real reporter" as someone who wears out some shoe leather chasing down the true story.
He can be as liberal as he wants, as long as he reports the truth. In fact, speaking of Rome correspondents for NCR, one of the most informative books I ever read was Xavier Rynne's history of Vatican II. He told you what was really going on, and I was very happy to get the liberal perspective. It was much more objective than the equivalent neo-Catholic perspective (I was totally unaware of a traditional perspective at the time).