Catholic bishops in Germany have rejected Pope Francis' controversial suggestion of re-translating the Lord's Prayer. The pope said in December that the Church should follow the adoption of French Catholics, who render 'lead us not into temptation' as 'do not less us enter into temptation'.

The pontiff had argued that the current language used in the Lord's Prayer implied that God directly leads or pushes people into sin – rather than that being the remit of Satan.

However, the German Bishops' Conference said yesterday that, having debated the matter, there were strong 'philosophical, exegetical, liturgical and, not least, ecumenical' not to change the prayer's famous wording.

They said the current rendering 'lead us not' referred to 'the trust to be carried and redeemed by almighty God', according to Crux. The bishops added that conformity to the traditional translation would maintain solidarity with Protestant churches and other churches across the world.

The Pope told TV2000 last month, regarding the prayer's current form: 'It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation...I am the one who falls. It's not him pushing me into temptation to then see how I have fallen. A father doesn't do that, a father helps you to get up immediately. It's Satan who leads us into temptation, that's his department.'

It was a typically provocative suggestion from the pontiff, though some questioned his assement of the New Testament Greek in the gospels, from which the Lord's Prayer originates. It was unlikely that Francis would compel all Catholic bishops' conferences in the Church to retranslate the prayer according to his reading, but yesterday's move may surprise some who see the German bishops as committed supporters of Pope Francis, Crux suggested.