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Do animals go to heaven? It's unclear what Pope Francis thinks.
- NEW: It was Pope Paul VI, not Pope Francis, who said animals can go to heaven
- NEW: It's unclear where Francis stands on the issue
- An Italian newspaper says Francis' remarks suggest he agrees
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.
(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.
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives for his general audience at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Wednesday, October 8. With his penchant for crowd-pleasing and spontaneous acts of compassion, the Pope has earned high praise from fellow Catholics and others since he replaced Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013.
Pope Francis speaks during the feast-day Mass on a one-day trip to the Calabrian region of Italy on Saturday, June 21. The Pope spoke out against the Mafia's "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good," and declared that "mafiosi are excommunicated, not in communion with God.'
The Pope meets faithfuls as he visits the San Gregorio Parish in Rome on Sunday, April 6.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, have an audience with the Pope during their one-day visit to Rome on April 3.
Francis speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited the Vatican on March 27.
The Pope blesses the altar at Rome's Santa Sabina church as he celebrates Mass on March 5, Ash Wednesday.
Daniele De Sanctis, a 19-month-old child dressed up as a pope, is handed to Francis as the pontiff is driven through the crowd February 26 at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.
Wind blows the papal skullcap off Pope Francis' head February 19 in St. Peter's Square.
A lamb is placed around Francis' neck as he visits a living nativity scene staged at the St. Alfonso Maria de' Liguori parish church, on the outskirts of Rome, on January 6.
The Pope holds a baby Jesus during a Christmas Eve Mass held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican in 2013.
Pope Francis, right, meets with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican on December 23. Benedict surprised the world by resigning "because of advanced age." It was the first time a pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years.
Pope Francis marked his 77th birthday on December 17 by hosting homeless men to a Mass and a meal at the Vatican. One of the men brought his dog.
Pope Francis embraced Vinicio Riva, a disfigured man who suffers from a non-infectious genetic disease, during a public audience November 6 at the Vatican. Riva then buried his head in the Pope's chest.
Pope Francis jokes November 6 with members of the Rainbow Association, which uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages.
A young boy hugs Francis as he delivers a speech October 26 in St. Peter's Square. The boy, part of a group of children sitting around the stage, played around the Pope as the Pope continued his speech and occasionally patted the boy's head.
Francis has eschewed fancy cars. Here, Father Don Renzo Zocca, second from right, offers his white Renault 4L to the Pope during a meeting September 7 at the Vatican.
Francis has his picture taken inside St. Peter's Basilica with youths who came to Rome for a pilgrimage in August.
During an impromptu news conference on July 29, aboard a plane from Brazil to Rome, the Pope said about gay priests, "Who am I to judge?" Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church.
Crowds swarm the Pope as he makes his way through World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro on July 27. According to the Vatican, 1 million people turned out to see the Pope.
Francis frees a dove May 15 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.
Francis embraces a young boy with cerebral palsy on March 31, 2013, a gesture that many took as a heartwarming token of his self-stated desire to "be close to the people."
The Pope washes the feet of juvenile offenders, including Muslim women, as part of Holy Thursday rituals on March 28, 2013. The act commemorates Jesus' washing of the Apostles' feet during the Last Supper.
Francis stands at the reception desk of the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI residence, where he paid the bill for his stay during the conclave that would elect him leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
Francis, formerly known as Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the Roman Catholic Church's 266th Pope on March 13, 2013. The first pontiff from Latin America was also the first to take the name Francis.
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Photos: 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.
Pope Francis to visit United States for first time next fall
While Catholic teachings don't reject the notion that animals have souls, traditional dogma has long held that animals don't go to heaven.
Drugs, capitalism, homosexuality -- little is off limits for outspoken Pope
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.
