Pope Francis has called for a better translation of a phrase about temptation in the Lord’s Prayer.
Currently, the wording states: “Lead us not into temptation”, but “that is not a good translation,” and the Roman Catholic Church should adopt a better one, the pope said in a TV interview.
Expressing his disagreement that God leads humans to sin, Francis said the Catholic Church in France had decided upon using the phrase “do not let us fall into temptation” as an alternative, and suggested something similar should be applied worldwide.
“Do not let me fall into temptation because it is I who fall, it is not God who throws me into temptation and then sees how I fell,” he added.
The prayer, also called “Our Father,” is part of Christian liturgical culture and memorised from childhood by hundreds of millions of Catholics.
It is a translation from the Latin vulgate, which was translated from ancient Greek, which was in turn translated from Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.