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'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments