Pope approves changes to Lord’s Prayer

‘Temptation’ line gets new phrasing

Pope Francis has approved a change to the Lord’s Prayer, widely regarded as the best-known prayer in the Christian faith.

The measure, which would change how Catholics around the world recite the prayer, replaces the line “and lead us not into temptation” with “do not let us fall into temptation,” uCatholic.com reported.

The move to change the “temptation” phrasing in the prayer was not a spur of the moment decision, but the result of 16 years of research by experts into the current translation of the prayer, according to the Christian Post.

Pope Francis had said in 2017 that he took issue with the “lead us not into temptation” phrasing.

“A father does not lead into temptation, a father helps you to get up immediately,” the pope said, according to the Christian Post. “It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation.”

“The one who leads you into temptation is Satan,” he added. “That’s Satan’s role.”

Christians who have been taught the Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father prayer, from the time they were children reacted with surprise to the news of the pope’s comments last year. On social media, many reacted with comments such as, “Leave the Lord’s Prayer alone!”

French Catholics adopted a linguistic change around the same time Francis spoke about the prayer in 2017, and the pope suggested then that Italian Catholics might want to follow suit.

Philip F. Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, a conservative website, has said that while the pope’s critique about the translation of the line “isn’t unreasonable,” if Francis actually intends to change the prayer, “it’s very upsetting” because it is so deeply ingrained for Catholics.

Some conservative evangelicals were also quick to respond.

“This is the Lord’s Prayer,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “It is not, and has never been, the pope’s prayer, and we have the very words of Jesus in the New Testament.”

The prayer comes from the book of Matthew, in which Jesus teaches his followers, “This, then, is how you should pray,” then recites the now-famous words.