This list — compiled by the National Catholic Reporter’s John L. Allen Jr. in 2006 — includes topics relevant today. To read more on Allen’s selections, visit www.ncrcafe.org/node/782.

In no particular order:

1. The north/south shift (Catholicism’s rapid growth in Africa, South America and other areas south)

2. The quest for Catholic identity

3. The rise of Islam

4. The “movements” (groups started in the 20th century – Opus Dei, the Neocatechumenate, Focolare, etc.)

5. The biotech revolution (ethical dilemmas in stem cell research, cloning, etc.)

6. The wireless world

7. The Wojtyla Revolution (Pope John Paul II’s legacy)

8. Globalization

9. Polarization and its discontents

10.The sexual abuse crisis

After this list was published, reader response prompted Allen to add five more (of many, many suggestions): women in the church, the crisis of secularism, China, the “greening” of Christianity, the Pentecostal explosion.