Pope Francis calls for Lord’s Prayer to be changed as it implies God ‘induces temptation’

'It's Satan who leads us into temptation, that's his department'

Pope Francis spoke about the Lord's Prayer on Italian TV (Reuters)

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, 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.

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.”

The 80-year-old also highlighted that the Catholic Church in France had already adapted the prayer, and uses the phrase “do not let us fall into temptation” instead.

The Lord's Prayer, which is memorised by millions of Christians across the world, appears in the Bible.

The current wording of the prayer is a translation from the Latin vulgate, before which it was translated from ancient Greek.

The original text was written in Aramaic, the language historians believe was spoken by Jesus.