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At John 2:14-16 (NRSVCE) we read:

" In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”

We see Jesus adopting a lenient approach towards sellers of doves vi-a-vis those selling sheep and cattle. Is it because His parents had offered doves at the time of His own presentation to the Temple (Luke 2:24) ? What do the teachings of Catholic Church reveal on the said ' differential treatment' of Jesus towards various merchants ?

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    Sheep and cattle can be driven out with a whip. If you do the same to a dove, you'll kill it. – Andreas Blass Jul 11 '18 at 17:54
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    People took (and take today) whips to cattle and sheep all the time. It's a perfectly normal thing to see. Doves, on the other hand, would appear abnormal, perhaps even cruel and abusive. Besides, I don't believe Jesus was trying to hurt any of the animals (or even the people), He was just motivating them to leave. The difficulty of herding doves might only be second to the challenge of herding cats. – JBH Jul 11 '18 at 18:14
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    In addition to the prior comments, it's worth noting that the end result was the same: everyone was rebuked, everyone was ejected. The differing details don't (IMO) add up to "leniency." – JDM-GBG Jul 19 '18 at 21:56
  • Doves would be carried in cages not able to flee on their own cattle and sheep can’t fly . – Kris Oct 3 '18 at 23:44

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