European Catholics grapple with Lord's Prayer translation
Pope Francis has encouraged a new translation—but is also letting local bishops decide which one to use.
Translations of the Lord’s Prayer are currently the subject of lively debate among Roman Catholics. The French recently updated theirs, and the Italians plan to adopt a new version later this year, while the Germans have just said a firm nein to any change.
Pope Francis, who in his native Spanish prays a version that is slightly different from all of the above, has praised the changes made in French. He also championed another reform—giving local church hierarchies a greater say in how the original Latin texts of prayers are translated.
Welcome to the confusing world of Catholic translations, where linguistics, theology, ecumenism, and power politics clash. A key point of discord: in Latin, the Roman church’s official language, the sixth petition is ne nos inducas in tentationem (“lead us not into temptation”), while the Greek original, which ends with the word peirasmos, can also be translated as a “trial” or “test of faith.”
