'Lead us not into temptation': Why Pope Francis wants to change the Lord's Prayer

The head of the Catholic Church has suggested a change to one of Christianity's most widely known invocations: the Lord's Prayer. Speaking to an Italian TV station, Pope Francis says that a line in the Lord's Prayer generally translated as 'lead us not into temptation' is a "not a good translation".

The Holy Father suggested instead that the line be changed to 'do not let us fall into temptation' as God does not lead man into sin. "[I]t is not God who throws me into temptation and then sees how I fell, a father does not do this," the Pope told TV2000.

According to the BBC, the current translation comes from a 4th Century Latin version of the Bible - itself a translation from Anicent Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.

Pope Francis is thought of as a liberaliser in the church and has not shied away from views that may have seemed controversial not too long ago. On Friday, in a speech on Rome's Spanish Steps, he spoke against "viruses" in society and hoped people would develop "antibodies" against them.

The metaphorical viruses included "resignation about environmental and ethical degradation", along with "indifference that says 'it's not my problem,' civic rudeness scorning the common good, fear of what is different and of the foreigner".

Francis made the speech in the form of a prayer to the Virgin Mary.

As the US administration was gearing up to announcing their controversial recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Pope again made his voice heard. Francis said that he was "profoundly concerned" by the developments and noted Jerusalem as a special city to all three Abrahamic faiths.

"I pray to the Lord that its identity is preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the whole world and that wisdom and prudence prevail to prevent new elements of tension from being added to a global context already convulsed by so many cruel conflicts," Francis said during a weekly address.