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Massachusetts AG report finds hundreds of Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets. No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered it yet.

4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

A years-long investigation by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell found that more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children across the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester over several decades. The report, released September 30, found 944 children reported being sexually abused, according to The Epoch Times. Investigators said the dioceses failed to adequately respond to abuse allegations, including transferring accused priests between parishes without disclosing why and not consistently reporting allegations to law enforcement. The Guardian reported no new indictments resulted from the eight-year investigation and that the attorney general said the church knew about the abuse. Most of the alleged abuse occurred before 2002, before a Boston Globe investigation exposed similar abuse and cover-up within the Archdiocese of Boston.

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. More than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children across three Massachusetts dioceses over several decades.

    Reported byLeftRight

  2. The report covers the Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester.

    Reported byLeftRight

  3. The report was released by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's office on September 30.

    Reported byLeftRight

  4. 944 children reported being sexually abused, according to the report.

    Reported byRight

  5. The investigation produced no new indictments despite lasting eight years.

    Reported byLeft

Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. The attorney general said the church knew about the abuse.

    Reported byLeft

  2. Dioceses failed to consistently report allegations to law enforcement and transferred accused priests without disclosing why.

    Reported byRight

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left headlines lead with the scale of abuse and the number of children affected, with The Guardian additionally noting the lack of new indictments and the church's prior knowledge.

    Hundreds of Catholic Clerics Abused Children in Massachusetts, Report Says
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side coverage, including a wire report republished by the New York Post and an original Epoch Times piece, states the scale of abuse factually and includes direct quotes from the attorney general.

    Evidence Shows Catholic Officials Abused 944 Children: Massachusetts AG
    The Epoch TimesFar 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.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Loaded modifier

    Quoted

    unimaginable harms afflicted on childrenMore neutral: serious harms inflicted on children

    This is a direct quote from the attorney general expressing a judgement, but it is attributed and in quotation marks.

    'This report provides for the first time a public accounting of the unimaginable harms afflicted on children,' the state's attorney general said.

    Quoted byThe Epoch Times (Far Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • scale of abuse
  • lack of accountability/indictments
  • church's awareness of abuse

Leaves out

  • specific number of children who reported abuse (944)
  • details on diocesan policy failures like transfers and underreporting

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Hundreds of Catholic Clerics Abused Children in Massachusetts, Report Says

    An investigation by the state’s attorney general found decades of sex abuse of nearly 1,000 children over a century across three Massachusetts dioceses.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The GuardianLeft

    Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 1,000 Massachusetts children over decades, report finds

    No new indictments from eight-year investigation as state attorney general says church knew about abuse More than 270 Catholic clerics sexually abused nearly 1,000 children across three Massachusetts dioceses over several decades, according to a report released by the state’s …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • scale of abuse
  • official findings and figures
  • institutional failures in handling allegations

Leaves out

  • lack of new indictments
  • church's prior knowledge of abuse

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    Evidence Shows Catholic Officials Abused 944 Children: Massachusetts AG

    'This report provides for the first time a public accounting of the Loaded modifier“unimaginable harms afflicted on children”This is a direct quote from the attorney general expressing a judgement, but it is attributed and in quotation marks.More neutral: serious harms inflicted on childrenThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?,' the state's attorney general said.

    Read at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRightReuters report

    Nearly 1,000 children sexually abused at three Massachusetts dioceses by 270 Catholic clerics over decades: report

    More than 270 Catholic clerics sexually abused nearly 1,000 children across three Massachusetts dioceses over decades, according to an investigative report the state's attorney general released on Wednesday.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

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

    First to report

    The Guardian, Sep 30, 3:53 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    5 hr 7 min later

    Its first report, Sep 30, 9:00 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The GuardianLeftSep 30, 3:53 PM EDT
  2. The New York TimesLeftSep 30, 7:23 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightSep 30, 9:00 PM EDT
  4. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 1, 7:56 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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