Skip to content

HealthBreaking

Pope Leo to undergo surgery to remove early-stage lung nodule

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 34 outlets across the spectrum.

161 articles in total, 3 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Camera crew with umbrella filming a large hospital building, with reporters waiting behind barrier tape.
Image via Breitbart NewsHow images are chosenReport this image

Pope Leo XIV, 71, has announced that he will undergo surgery to remove an early-stage nodule on his lung, found during recent medical tests. The Vatican said the procedure is planned for this week, and that the pope will be admitted to hospital on Tuesday for a weeklong recovery. The Vatican press office denied Italian media reports that inflammation prompted the checkup, saying no particular issue had precipitated the tests. CBS News reports the surgery is the first major health event of Leo’s 17-month pontificate. Al Jazeera reports the pope continued his busy schedule a day after the announcement.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Pope Leo XIV announced he will undergo surgery to remove an early-stage nodule found on his lung.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft4Center4Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Al Jazeera English
    Center
    Sky News, France 24, BBC News, Deutsche Welle
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Just the News, Fox News, Breitbart News

  2. The Vatican said the procedure is planned for this week and that the pope will be admitted to hospital on Tuesday, with about a week of recovery.

    Reported byLeft2Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News, CBS News
    Right
    New York Post

  3. The Vatican press office said no particular issue precipitated the tests and denied Italian media reports that inflammation prompted the checkup.

    One outletCBS News· Left

  4. The surgery is the first major health event of Pope Leo’s 17-month pontificate, according to CBS News.

    One outletCBS News· Left

  5. Pope Leo has kept his schedule a day after announcing the surgery.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that Pope Leo XIV announced he will undergo surgery to remove an early-stage lung nodule. The main difference is wording: Fox News headlines a tumor where others say nodule or lump, and left outlets add the hospital timing and the pope’s continued schedule.

  • the left

    13 outlets

    Left headlines report the scheduled surgery and its timing, such as this week or Tuesday’s hospital admission, while Al Jazeera’s headline focuses on the pope continuing his work.

    Pope Leo to go to hospital Tuesday for lung nodule surgery
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    7 outlets

    Center headlines state the surgery as the pope’s announcement, mostly using nodule, with BBC and Deutsche Welle calling it a lump and France 24 leading with the pope saying he will have surgery.

    Pope Leo to have surgery after lump found on lung
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    14 outlets

    Right headlines announce the surgery plainly, but Fox News says tumor where others say nodule or lump; the New York Post’s headline is an Associated Press report.

    Pope Leo announces Sensational language“tumor”The pope and most outlets describe the finding as a nodule, and the word tumor suggests a more serious diagnosis than the reports give.More neutral: noduleDisagree with this highlight? on lung, surgery planned in 'next few days'
    Fox NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left8

    Health ScarecancelledRevealsrare moment of Vatican transparency

  • Center3

    cancelledlife-threatening massesseismic

  • Right4

    Health ScaretumorshockingQuestions swirl

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    Health ScareMore neutral: medical finding

    Health scare adds alarm that the reported facts, an early-stage nodule and a one-week recovery, do not establish.

    Pope Reveals Health Scare Ahead of Major Trip

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)New York Post (Right)

  • Partisan shorthand

    cancelledMore neutral: was fired or lost a contract

    Frames consequences as persecution; state what happened.

    Pope Leo has cancelled all planned public events until Tuesday 20 October, ahead of surgery to remove a…

    Used bySky News (Center)The Guardian (Left)

  • Sensational language

    tumorMore neutral: nodule

    The pope and most outlets describe the finding as a nodule, and the word tumor suggests a more serious diagnosis than the reports give.

    Pope Leo announces tumor on lung, surgery planned in 'next few days'

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    RevealsMore neutral: says

    Reveals suggests the news was concealed, although the pope announced it himself at a public blessing.

    Pope Reveals Health Scare Ahead of Major Trip

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 9 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    life-threatening massesMore neutral: larger masses

    Describing the nodule as a potentially life-threatening mass goes beyond the facts reported about this nodule.

    …treatment is generally advised before nodules can grow to become larger life-threatening masses.

    Used byDeutsche Welle (Center)

  • Loaded modifier

    rare moment of Vatican transparencyMore neutral: a public announcement by the Vatican

    The phrase adds the outlet’s own evaluation of the Vatican’s openness beyond the fact that the pope announced the nodule.

    In a rare moment of Vatican transparency, Leo, 71, said during his angelus prayer on Sunday that doctors had…

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Sensational language

    shockingMore neutral: announcement

    The word adds drama to a routine announcement of a planned surgery and a diagnosis, which the sources do not describe as shocking.

    The Vatican made a shocking announcement Tuesday after Pope Leo XIV underwent a planned surgery to remove a small…

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    seismicMore neutral: major

    The word is a dramatic adjective that adds emphasis beyond the facts of a cancer diagnosis and surgery.

    But that does not mean Catholics were prepared for such seismic news about cancer and removal of a large section of Pope Leo XIV's lung - even after…

    Used byBBC News (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    rantMore neutral: said or spoke

    Dismisses the content by characterizing the delivery.

    President Donald Trump has turned a question about Pope Leo’s cancer diagnosis into a rant about himself.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Rant About HimselfMore neutral: Trump answers question about Pope Leo's cancer, then talks about himself

    Calling the president's remarks a rant characterizes them as wild before the remarks are quoted, while the description reports only that he briefly spoke to the media.

    Trump, 80, Turns Pope’s Cancer Into Rant About Himself

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Vague attribution

    Questions swirlMore neutral: Reports raise questions about

    It suggests doubts exist without naming who raises them or what evidence supports them.

    Questions swirl about pope's future and what he knew when praying at a French shrine famed for…

    Used byThe Washington Times (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    more important matterMore neutral: turned to a different subject

    It judges which subject Trump considered more important, a judgement the reported words do not establish.

    The president immediately pivoted to what he appeared to view as a more important matter after briefly wishing Pope Leo XIV well.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    congratulate himselfMore neutral: then turned to praising his own supporters

    It states Trump’s motive and self-regard as fact rather than reporting what he said.

    …removed by wishing the pontiff well — and then using that opportunity to congratulate himself.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

13 outlets

Leads with

  • timing of the surgery
  • hospital admission on Tuesday
  • early-stage nodule
  • pope’s continued schedule
See the 14 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

7 outlets

Leads with

  • pope’s own announcement
  • surgery in coming days
  • very early stage of the nodule
See the 11 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

14 outlets

Leads with

  • pope’s own announcement
  • surgery in coming days
  • early-stage nodule
See the 18 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    10 min later

    Its first report, Oct 11, 6:34 AM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    Sky News, Oct 11, 6:25 AM EDT

  • Right

    39 min later

    Its first report, Oct 11, 7:04 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Sky NewsCenterOct 11, 6:25 AM EDT
  2. NBC NewsLeftOct 11, 6:34 AM EDT
  3. France 24CenterOct 11, 6:35 AM EDT
  4. Fox NewsFar RightOct 11, 7:04 AM EDT
  5. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 11, 7:09 AM EDT
  6. CBS NewsLeftOct 11, 7:13 AM EDT
  7. BBC NewsCenterOct 11, 7:15 AM EDT
  8. ABC NewsLeftOct 11, 7:18 AM EDT
  9. The Washington PostLeftOct 11, 7:43 AM EDT
  10. Deutsche WelleCenterOct 11, 7:49 AM EDT
  11. The GuardianLeftOct 11, 7:55 AM EDT
  12. New York PostRightOct 11, 8:17 AM EDT
  13. NPRLeftOct 11, 8:54 AM EDT
  14. The New York TimesLeftOct 11, 8:55 AM EDT
  15. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 11, 9:50 AM EDT
  16. Washington ExaminerRightOct 11, 10:15 AM EDT
  17. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 11, 10:59 AM EDT
  18. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 11, 12:44 PM EDT
  19. The HillCenterOct 11, 1:52 PM EDT
  20. Straight Arrow NewsCenterOct 11, 2:00 PM EDT
  21. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 11, 2:34 PM EDT
  22. The Daily WireFar RightOct 12, 4:56 AM EDT
  23. The Washington TimesRightOct 12, 7:32 AM EDT
  24. One America NewsFar RightOct 12, 4:24 PM EDT
  25. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 13, 5:02 PM EDT
  26. RedStateFar RightOct 13, 5:24 PM EDT
  27. SalonFar LeftOct 13, 6:05 PM EDT
  28. TheBlazeFar RightOct 13, 7:15 PM EDT
  29. CBN NewsFar RightOct 14, 8:45 AM EDT
  30. The Western JournalFar RightOct 14, 9:30 AM EDT
  31. Business InsiderLeftOct 14, 11:00 AM EDT
  32. TIMELeftOct 14, 1:58 PM EDT
  33. HuffPostFar LeftOct 15, 8:35 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page