Pope Francis has called for a change to the wording of the Lord’s Prayer, as the existing translation implies God “induces temptation”.
The prayer, also known as Our Father, asks God to “lead us not into temptation”. Speaking to Italy’s channel TV2000 last December, the Pope said he believed the wording – used in English and Italian translations – should be altered to reflect that it is not God who leads humans to sin. “It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation,” he said.
The Pope wants the phrase to be changed to “do not let us fall into temptation.”
He added: “I am the one who falls. It’s not him pushing me into temptation to then see how I have fallen. “A father doesn’t do that, a father helps you to get up immediately.”
“It’s Satan who leads us into temptation, that’s his department.”
Pope Francis said the Catholic Church in France had opted for a different phrasing, which worked around this particular issue. The French translation uses the phrase ‘do not let us fall into temptation’ as an alternative, which, the Pope said, implies that the fault would be human.
Cardinal Dolan Reacts
Timothy Cardinal Dolan believes changing the words of “The Lord’s Prayer” would be a sin — and he’s sure Pope Francis agrees. The head of the Archdiocese of New York said the Pope’s comments about altering the traditional prayer were likely lost in translation.
“He’s saying, ‘How can I best explain the words of Jesus?’” Dolan declared last December at a Christmas season shopping event to assist underprivileged New York families.
“We all know Jesus didn’t mean that God could ever lead us into temptation,” the cardinal continued. “We’re praying that he would protect us from it.”
The Lord’s Prayer emerged from a Latin translation of the Bible, drawn itself from ancient Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic writings. Dolan emphasised that the Pope wasn’t calling for a revision of a tried-and-true prayer that dates back centuries.∎
Jill Jensen, Veritas
Frankie can stuff it. I am not changing it to suit that jackal.
Please let us leave the Lord’s prayer as it is. Any attempt to change it means adding or removing