THE POPE has announced a major change to the words recited in the Lord’s Prayer.
Pope Francis has officially approved a change to one key phrase in the prayer which will see the line “lead us not into temptation” altered to “do not let us fall into temptation”.
The Pontiff moved to alter the line amid concerns the original version portrayed God in a false light, as it is actually Satan who is the one leading man astray.
Pope Francis first put forward the idea of changing the line back in 2017.
"A father does not lead into temptation, a father helps you to get up immediately," he explained.
"It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation.”
"The one who leads you into temptation is Satan," the Pope added. "That's Satan's role."
Under the change, the new amended version of the Lord’s Prayer will be the one to feature in the revised third edition of the Italian Missai, an important text in the celebration of Mass.
The change comes as part of a concerted effect among bishops and religious experts to help improve the "theological, pastoral, and stylistic viewpoint" of the Catholic church.
Despite the shift, the change will not affect Protestants and Anglicans, who refer to differing religious texts.
The change has been poorly received in some quarters though.
Speaking to the Seattle Times, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler, claimed to be “shocked and appalled” at the change.
“This is the Lord’s Prayer. It is not, and has never been, the Pope’s prayer, and we have the very words of Jesus in the New Testament,” he said.
“It is those very words that the pope proposes to change. It is not only deeply problematic, it’s almost breathtaking.”
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