Do animals go to heaven? It's unclear what Pope Francis thinks.
Do animals go to heaven? It's unclear what Pope Francis thinks.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story, citing a newspaper, attributed a quote to Pope Francis. The quote actually comes from Pope Paul VI.

Story highlights

It was Pope Paul VI, not Pope Francis, who said animals can go to heaven

It's unclear where Francis stands on the issue

An Italian newspaper says Francis' remarks suggest he agrees

CNN  — 

Can animals go to heaven?

Some people all over the world have been excited in recent days about reports by news agencies worldwide – including one from CNN – declaring that Pope Francis apparently believes they can.

It turns out it’s unclear what he believes about this.

A previous pope, Paul VI, had no doubts. “One day we will again see our animals in the eternity of Christ,” Paul once told a boy grieving the loss of his pet.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos reads to Pope Francis, as they meet at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, the words "The bullets have written our past, education will write our future" engraved on a pen made from a recycled bullet once used in the civil war between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The pen was later used to sign the peace agreements between the parties earlier this year. Santos, who was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the longest running conflict in the region, presented Pope Francis with the pen. (Vincenzo Pinto /Pool Photo via AP)
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos reads to Pope Francis, as they meet at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, the words "The bullets have written our past, education will write our future" engraved on a pen made from a recycled bullet once used in the civil war between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The pen was later used to sign the peace agreements between the parties earlier this year. Santos, who was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the longest running conflict in the region, presented Pope Francis with the pen. (Vincenzo Pinto /Pool Photo via AP)
Vincenzo Pinto/AP
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Pope Francis

That quote, from the pontiff who reigned from 1963 until his death in 1978, was inaccurately attributed to Francis.

The confusion may have begun when Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera referred to Paul’s quote in a story that carried the headline, “The pope and animals: ‘Heaven is open to all creatures.’”

The story itself does not indicate Francis said that. Instead, it refers back to Paul VI.

The writer for the newspaper pointed to something Francis actually did say: “Sacred Scripture teaches us that the fulfillment of this marvelous plan cannot but involve everything that surrounds us and came from the heart and mind of God.”

That remark, the writer suggested, “widened the hope of salvation” to animals and all of creation.

The headline on the article quoted Francis as saying, “Heaven is open to all creatures.” But there’s no sign Francis said that.

A search through the current Pope’s writings and remarks showed no immediate sign that he has taken a clear position on the question.

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While Catholic teachings neither reject nor reaffirm the notion that animals have souls. There is no hard-and-fast answer in Catholicism to this question.

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It’s an emotional question for many people.

Amy Kitchens Pollick of Decatur, Alabama, shared an anecdote from her childhood on Friday. When she was 10 years old, death claimed her beloved cat, Big Tom.

Her father had tears in his eyes when he told her, “Now Little One. The Bible says the Lord sees even every sparrow that falls,” Pollick wrote on Facebook. “If He sees every sparrow, He’s not going to forget about a good old kitty like Big Tom.’”

“I’ve held that in my heart ever since,” she wrote.

CNN’s Michael Pearson contributed to this report.