TruthBook Religious News Blog

June 22, 2008 12:10 AM

On June 22, 1633, a Vatican Inquisition passed down judgment on Galileo Galilei for his writings and teaching of the Copernicus Theory.

A brilliant scientific mind in 17th century Florence, Galileo, was forced to renounce his work and writings concerning the theories of Nicolaus Copernicus, who had suggested that the sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe.

Directly contradicting Biblical thought in the eyes of dogmatic critics, the Copernicus Theory was a subject Galileo embraced and studied for much of his life.

Promoting it in his writings and lectures early in his life, Galileo was first admonished by the Papacy in 1617.

However, the existence of an official injunction at the time instructing him to remain silent on the subject remains a source of controversy.

It was this injunction that would seal his fate when he was ordered to stand trial before a council of cardinals in the spring of 1633 to explain the publication of a Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems—a text that many found to validate the teachings of Copernicus.

Papal critics were especially angry that the text was written in such a way to bring the message to a wider audience, outside the scientific world.

Called to Rome from his home in Florence, Galileo immediately distanced himself from his work, though whether his words came out of necessity or actual regret remains a mystery.

Weak and unhealthy at age 70, Galileo was unable to defend charges that he had contradicted the church’s earlier ruling or remember what it had said.

At the mercy of the Inquisition, the Church body charged with seeking out heretics, Galileo endured a trial that lasted months before finally being ordered to renounce his views.

The trial signaled a debate between the church and science that has lasted centuries.

The trial resulting in Galileo’s renouncement of his belief of the sun’s role as the center of the universe lasted months and required a 23-day journey from Florence to Rome—a taxing and exhausting experience for the 70-year-old scientist.

Galileo’s career

Born in the Italian city of Pisa in 1564, Galileo claimed a number of discoveries during his lifetime, studying time intervals, motion and first theorizing that, regardless of their weight, objects fell at the same speed in a vacuum. However, it was his study of the Copernicus Theory that eventually led him to run afoul of the Church.

Galileo’s life was rich with study and discovery, including the development of the refractor telescope—one of two standard telescopes used today alongside Sir Isaac Newton’s reflector. Galileo used this telescope to observe the movement of the moons of Jupiter, strengthening his faith in the teachings of Copernicus.

Mistreatment of Galileo by the Vatican

Contrasting with reports that Galileo had been mistreated during his trial, and possibly abused in an effort to make him renounce his beliefs, the Vatican’s Secretary of Doctrinal Congregation, Archbishop Angelo Amato, claimed the Church had actually treated him quite well. In 2003, Amato disputed claims that he had been mistreated, citing church documents stating that he had been hosted in the Vatican lawyer’s apartment and treated with every courtesy during his stay in Rome.

After centuries of allegations of mistreatment, the Catholic Church began to rethink its approach to Galileo in 1979 when Pope John Paul II suggested an analysis of how the trial had occurred. A formal apology followed in 2000 and earlier this year, a statue of the scientist was announced, which will be erected outside the apartment where Galileo stayed while awaiting trial.

Science vs. religion

The trial of Galileo has been cited throughout history as a part of the ongoing debate between science and religion, often by scientists who point to the scientist as a “martyr” for scientific persecution at the hands of dogmatic critics.

NASA named the first satellite to closely monitor Jupiter after Galileo, thanks to his achievements in the field of astronomy. The satellite became the first to pass an asteroid, observe a moon of an asteroid and directly observed a comet colliding with an asteroid. It was plunged into Jupiter’s dense atmosphere and lost in 2003.

The Church vs. Galileo

The centuries-old debate between the Church and science does not necessarily have to continue, argued Philip Meyer in USA Today earlier this year. The two explanations for life can indeed coexist and can actually support one another. “Religion is about the mystery. Science is about figuring out what works in the material world. There is no danger that science will ever deprive us of the mystery,” said Meyer.

While the Catholic Church has since backed away from its judgment of Galileo, notably with an official apology in 2000, it has often defended its 17th century actions by pointing out that the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe was considered common scientific knowledge at the time.

Source: Catholic.com

Labels: church, Copernicus Theory, Galileo, Inquisition, sun, universe, Vatican