The Greek verb is εἰσφέρω which is usually rendered as “lead into” or “bring in.” While I see no serious problem with the proposed revised translation, “do not let us fall into temptation,” I am at a loss to any pressing need for dismissal of the traditional rendering. The word “lead” acknowledges the mystery of divine providence and election. God writes his straight lines with our crooked ones. God never intends evil, but the fact that we live in a broken world means that we face many temptations and must take up our crosses to follow Jesus. We can ask that God might excuse or protect us from being brought before temptations that we might find too terrible to bear. But the Pope’s translation might be inferred as divine intervention or as an imposed moral restraint that would violate the person’s human will and freedom. I would suggest an in depth catechesis upon the Lord’s Prayer before any change in the traditional English rendering.
Given all the issues that face us, do we really want to open this can of worms?
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