The current wording that says “lead us not into temptation” is not a good translation because God does not lead humans to sin, he says.

His suggestion is to use “do not let us fall into temptation” instead, he told Italian TV on Wednesday night.

The Lord’s Prayer is the best-known prayer in Christianity.

The pontiff said France’s Roman Catholic Church was now using the new wording “do not let us fall into temptation” as an alternative, and something similar should be used worldwide.

“Do not let me fall into temptation because it is I who fall, it is not God who throws me into temptation and then sees how I fell,” he told TV2000, an Italian Catholic TV channel.

“A father does not do that, a father helps you to get up immediately.”

It is a translation from the Latin Vulgate, a 4th-Century Latin translation of the Bible, which itself was translated from ancient Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.

Since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis has not shied away from controversy and has tackled some issues head-on, Vatican observers say.

He has previously said the Roman Catholic Church should apologise to gay people for the way it has treated them.

He has also compared European migrant detention centres with concentration camps.

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Source: BBC

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His Eminence Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State with the rank of Vice President of the State of Vatican, conveyed Pope Francis’s appreciation of Ghana’s watchdog role when he paid a courtesy call on me at the Presidency on Friday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sa8bVqIVQ7t8FaD9KSiuCjJQaLpmxZ07″]Cardinal Bertello is the Pope’s Special Envoy to the celebration of the 40 years of Diplomatic Relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Ghana.

He is also the Pope’s representative to Ghana’s 60th Independence celebrations. He was accompanied by Archbishop Jean Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana and Sir Benedict Batabe Assorow, Managing Editor of The Catholic Standard.

Citing Ghana’s contribution to the United Nations Peacekeeping troops in various trouble spots, Cardinal Bertello said Ghana’s continued support for peace and stability had been noted with appreciation by the international community and the Holy Father.

“Ghana’s stable democracy is also good for Africa. It is an example for all” His Eminence Cardinal Guiseppe Bertello added.

Vice President Bawumia commended the Roman Catholic Church for the enormous role it has played in the development of Ghana over the decades, through the provision of schools, hospitals and other infrastructure as well as human resources.

“We value and cherish the relationship between Ghana and the Holy See and we look forward to more years of the special, mutually beneficial relationship,” Dr Bawumia said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The message, which was delivered on behalf of the Pope by Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, also indicated to President Akufo-Addo that Pope Francis had decided to send an envoy from The Vatican for Ghana’s 60th Independence celebration.

This decision by Pope Francis, according to Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, was the first time in 40 years that a delegation had been sent by the Pope to witness Ghana’s Independence Day celebration.

This, according to the Papal Nuncio, was indicative of the high regard Pope Francis has for President Akufo-Addo, Ghana and her democratic credentials.

Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich made this known on Wednesday, February 22, 2017, when he paid a courtesy call on the President.

He also urged President Akufo-Addo to announce the name of a new Ambassador from Ghana to The Vatican, as there isn’t one at the moment.

In his brief response, President Akufo-Addo, through the Archbishop, thanked Pope Francis for his message, and expressed his deepest respects and appreciation for the immense work being done by Pope Francis, especially for the year.

He also commended the Catholic Church for the invaluable support given to Ghana, in the areas of education, health and the provision of social services to the citizenry, over the years, particularly through the Catholic Relief Services.

President Akufo-Addo assured Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich that, in the tenure of his Presidency, he will deepen further the relations between Ghana and The Vatican, for the mutual benefit of its citizens.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In improvised comments in the sermon of his private morning mass in his residence, he said: “It is a scandal to say one thing and do another. That is a double life.

“There are those who say, ‘I am very Catholic, I always go to mass, I belong to this and that association’,” the head of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic church said, according to a Vatican Radio transcript.

He said some of these people should also say “‘my life is not Christian, I don’t pay my employees proper salaries, I exploit people, I do dirty business, I launder money, [I lead] a double life’.”

“There are many Catholics who are like this and they cause scandal,” he said. “How many times have we all heard people say ‘if that person is a Catholic, it is better to be an atheist’.”

Since his election in 2013, Francis has often told Catholics, both priests and lay people, to practise what their religion preaches.

In his often impromptu sermons, he has condemned sexual abuse of children by priests as being tantamount to a “satanic mass”, said Catholics in the mafia excommunicate themselves, and told his own cardinals to not act “as if they were princes”.

Less than two months after his election, he said Christians should see atheists as good people if they do good.

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Source: The Guardian

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It continues a special dispensation granted last year for the duration of the Year of Mercy, which finished Sunday.
“I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father,” the letter states.

“May every priest, therefore, be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation,” the letter continues.

“I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion.”

‘Moral evil’
The Catholic Church has long held that abortion is a grave “moral evil,” with the Church’s strong position on the issue driving many Catholic pro-life groups.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that every human life “from the moment of conception until death is sacred” — and that any Catholic who procures an abortion incurs automatic excommunication, a penalty that often only a bishop can lift.

But Pope Francis announced a shift last year when he said that priests around the world would be authorized to forgive the “sin of abortion” for the duration of the Church’s Year of Mercy, which ran from December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016.

“The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented,” he said at the time, expressing sympathy for women who had been through the “agonizing and painful” decision to terminate their pregnancy.
In some regions, such as in the US, many priests already had the power to forgive abortion. Vatican officials described the announcement last year as “a widening of the church’s mercy.”

Church officials had indicated at the time that it was possible that Pope Francis would opt to allow the changed policy to continue in perpetuity, as he has now done.

The Year of Mercy is a period during which believers may receive special indulgences for their sins.

Pope Francis has forged a more forgiving, merciful direction for the Church since his papacy began in March 2013, taking a more welcoming position toward groups that had previously found themselves on the margins of the Catholic establishment, such as gays and lesbians, and divorced Catholics.

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Source: CNN

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