Our Father translation to remain untouched in Germany

Berlin, Germany, Jan 25, 2018 / 14:53 pm

After Pope Francis recently suggested that parts of the Our Father prayer were poorly translated, bishops in Germany have debated and decided they will leave the current translation as-is.

In December, Pope Francis told the Italian television network TV2000 that "lead us not into temptation" was a poor rendering.

"This is not a good translation," the Pope said in the Dec. 6 video.

"I am the one who falls, it's not [God] who pushes me toward temptation to see how I fall. A father doesn't do this, a father helps us to get up right away," he continued.

The German bishops' conference released a statement Jan. 25 saying they have decided against changing the translation.

The bishops noted "philosophical, exegetical, liturgical and, not least, ecumenical" reasons to leave the translation untouched. They added that the line in question speaks of "the trust to be carried and redeemed by almighty God," according to the Associated Press.

The German bishops did encourage more clarification on the meaning and theological background of the line in question.

Unlike Germany, France re-translated the line to "ne nous laisse pas entrer en tentation", or "do not let me fall into temptation". It had previously read, "ne nous soumets pas à la tentation", or "lead us not into temptation". According to the French episcopal conference, the change in translation was accepted by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in June 2013.

The Latin version of the prayer, which is the authoritative version in the Catholic Church, reads "et ne nos inducas in tentationem."