"One day we will again see our animals in the eternity of Christ," Francis was reported to have said.
However, that statement was actually made by a previous pontiff, Pope Paul VI, who served from 1963 until his death in 1978.
Pope Paul's statement was printed by Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, which included the previous pope's remarks as background for Pope Francis' actual statement during a recent Vatican address.
"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," Francis said Nov. 26.
The Italian paper said Francis' words "widened hope" for those who wished for their pets to join them in heaven.
The New York Times printed a correction of its story.
"An earlier version of this article misstated the circumstances of Pope Francis' remarks. He made them in a general audience at the Vatican, not in consoling a distraught boy whose dog had died. The article also misstated what Francis is known to have said. According to Vatican Radio, Francis said: 'The Holy Scripture teaches us that the fulfillment of this wonderful design also affects everything around us,' which was interpreted to mean he believes animals go to heaven. Francis is not known to have said: 'One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God's creatures.' (Those remarks were once made by Pope Paul VI to a distraught child, and were cited in a Corriere della Sera article that concluded Francis believes animals go to heaven.)"
"There is a fundamental rule in journalism," deputy Vatican spokesman Ciro Benedettini told The Washington Post. "That is double-checking, and in this case it was not done."
- Topics
- Paul VI
