Officials say several news sources took an incorrect quote from an article and attributed it wrongly to Pope Francis.
Premier did not publish the story but other Christian news outlets joined the secular press in doing so.
Church press officers are now urging the journalists involved to 'double check' calling it a 'fundamental rule'.
Original articles took a quote from Pope Paul VI in 1978 and mistook them for statements made by the current pontiff.
Pope Francis has not outlined his stance on the place of animals in heaven.