The German bishops’ conference has decided to stick with the traditional wording of the Lord’s Prayer despite the Pope’s criticism of it.
The Italian bishops, meanwhile, have opted to change the words of the prayer in their missal.
The decisions came after the French bishops chose to change the line, “Lead us not into temptation”, to the equivalent of “Do not let us enter into temptation”.
The issue emerged after Pope Francis discussed the line “And lead us not into temptation” with Fr Marco Pozza, a Catholic prison chaplain, as part of a television series on the Lord’s Prayer.
Pope Francis said the English translation could give believers the wrong impression that God can and does lead people into temptation. He told Fr Pozza: “I’m the one who falls. But it’s not [God] who pushes me into temptation to see how I fall. No, a father does not do this. A father helps us up immediately.”
The Pope added: “The one who leads us into temptation is Satan. That’s Satan’s job.”
The German bishops said they would keep the line unchanged, particularly to use the same wording as most Catholics and most other Christian denominations.
But they said they would like to see more done in offering the faithful a clearer and fuller explanation and discussion of the prayer’s meaning.
The line in the prayer, they said, is not about persuading God not to tempt the faithful, but rather it is a recognition of one’s own weakness and one’s trust in God’s guidance.
Cardinal urges Trudeau to drop ‘ideological test’
Toronto Cardinal Thomas Collins and 86 other religious leaders have urged the Canadian government to abandon a new policy that requires organisations seeking summer jobs grants to confirm support for abortion.
The statement, signed by Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, said: “The promise of a free society is that there be no religious or ideological test or conditions to receiving government benefit or protection.”
Cardinal Collins said religious groups wanted to continue working with the government on a programme that provides funding to hire students to work at businesses and charities over the summer.
“Nobody here is trying to start any conflict,” Cardinal Collins said at a press conference with other faith leaders in Toronto.
“We follow the law, the Charter of Rights and the human rights codes. What more do you want? To have a wide-open ideological test for everybody, which we cannot in conscience sign – that’s just not fair.”
A government minister said the wording of the required statement would not be changed.
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