The Apostolic See has confirmed
the translation of the third edition
of the Roman Missal prepared
by the Italian bishops’ conference. The
translation has garnered attention for its
changes to the Our Father, as well as the
Gloria.
The newly-approved Messale Romano
will translate the penultimate line of the
Our Father (ne nos indúcas in tentatió-
nem) (lead us not into temptation) as
“non abbandonarci alla tentazione” (do
not abandon us to temptation). The ex-
isting version had translated it as “non ci
indurre in tentazione” (lead us not into
temptation).
In the Gloria, the line “in térra pax
homínibus bónae voluntátis” (on earth
peace to people of good will) will be trans-
lated “pace in terra agli uomini, amati dal
Signore” (peace on earth to men, loved by
the Lord). It was translated “pace in terra
agli uomini di buona volontà” (peace on
earth to men of good will).
The Italian bishops’ conference had
approved the new edition of the Messale
Romano during their November 2018
general assembly. The Apostolic See’s
confirmation of the text was communi-
cated during the conference’s meeting
last month.
News reports in English may have giv-
en the impression that Pope Francis had
changed the Our Father for the whole of
the Church, rather than his see having
confirmed a change made by the bishops
of Italy.
The new Italian text is a translation of
the third edition of the Missale Roma-
num, the Latin typical edition which
was issued in 2002. The existing Messale
Romano was a translation of the second
edition of the Missale Romanum, which
had been promulgated in 1975.
The English translation of the third edi-
tion of the Missale Romanum was issued
in 2011.
A spokesman for the English and Welsh
bishops has said that the International
Commission on English in the Liturgy
“is not currently considering the Lord’s
Prayer,” and that “there are no plans at
present for [the Our Father] to change
in English,” but that “I am sure there
will be some consultation with the Eng-
lish-speaking nations.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish bish-
ops said there were “no plans” to adopt
the changes, while Bishop Francis Duffy
of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, liturgy
chair for the Irish bishops, said that “In
consultation with bishops from other
English-speaking countries, the Irish
Catholic Bishops’ Conference will give
close attention to the reported change to
theLord’s Prayer. The bishops will look
at the implications for both the Irish and
English translations of this much loved
and universal prayer.”
The change in the Italian translation
was many years in the making. The re-
vised version of the Our Father had been
published in a version of the Bible ap-
proved by the Italian bishops’ conference
in 2002, and published in 2008.
The French bishops’ conference made
a similar change to its translation of the
Our Father. In 2017 it adopted a transla-
tion reading “ne nous laisse pas entrer
en tentation” (do not let us fall into
temptation), whereas the former trans-
lation had read “ne nous soumets pas à
la tentation” (lead us not into tempta-
tion).
In January 2018, the German bishops’
conference chose against changing their
translation of the Our Father to accord
with the new trend. They noted “phil-
osophical, exegetical, liturgical and,
not least, ecumenical” reasons to leave
the translation untouched, and added
that the petition speaks of “the trust to
be carried and redeemed by almighty
God.”
Though the new Italian translation of
the Our Father was not Pope Francis’
“change,” he has several times been pub-
licly critical of the way the petition “ne
nos indúcas in tentatiónem” is translat-
ed in some languages.
In an interview with Italian Catholic
television network TV2000, Pope Fran-
cis lauded the French bishops’ decision,
and he expressed concern that certain
translations could give the impression it
is God “who pushes me toward tempta-
tion to see how I fall.”
More recently, Francis commented
that “the original Greek expression con-
tained in the Gospels is difficult to ren-
der exactly, and all modern translations
are somewhat limping.”
The Greek verb found in the Gospels,
eisenenkēis, means to bring in, to lead
in, to carry in, or to introduce.
In his collation on the Our Father,
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that “Christ
teaches us to pray, not that we may not
be tempted, but that we may not be led
into temptation. For it is when one over-
comes temptation that one deserves the
reward … Our Lord, therefore, teaches
us to pray that we be not led into temp-
tation, by giving our consent to it,” be-
cause “it is human to be tempted, but to
give consent is devilish.”
“But does God lead one to evil, that
he should pray: ‘Lead us not into temp-
tation’? I reply that God is said to lead a
person into evil by permitting him to the
extent that, because of his many sins, He
withdraws His grace from man, and as a
result of this withdrawal man does fall
into sin,” the Angelic Doctor wrote.
“God, however, directs man by the
fervor of charity that he be not led into
temptation. For charity even in its small-
est degree is able to resist any kind of sin:
‘Many waters cannot quench charity.’ He
also guides man by the light of his in-
tellect in which he teaches him what he
should do. For as the Philosopher says:
‘Every one who sins is ignorant.’ ‘I will
give thee understanding and I will in-
struct thee.’ It was for this last that David
prayed, saying: ‘Enlighten my eyes that I
never sleep in death; lest at any time my
enemy say: I have prevailed against him.’
We have this through the gift of under-
standing. Therefore, when we refuse
to consent to temptation, we keep our
hearts pure … And it follows from this
petition that we are led up to the sight of
God, and to it may God lead us all.
