There are many today who believe, and confess that the Church acts as antagonist to the sciences, often wishing to conceal them and oppress the truth of the scientific realities. While various Christian traditions have very checkered pasts with Science and Reason (the Scopes trial comes to mind), this argument is unfounded in the history of the Holy Catholic Church. It was the Church who transformed science from a trade to a discipline, and there are various holy and devout Catholic men and women who have contributed greatly to the realm of the sciences: Marie Curie who pioneered radioactivity, Gregor Mendel who founded genetics and was an Augustinian friar, Fr. Georges Lemaitre founded the Big Bang Theory, and Nicolaus Copernicus (who proposed the idea of heliocentrism before Galileo) was a Catholic priest as well. There are many more faithful Catholics who have contributed to the study of the sciences (shout out to my buddy Zach "Dallas" Harris), but if I were to list all of them, it would comprise of more than a few blog posts in and of itself.
Now, most of the people who believe this non-sense (that the Church is somehow "against" Science), have the foundation of this belief in the Galileo trial(s). However, most of these people do not truly comprehend the fullness of what really happened to Galileo and why exactly the Church "persecuted" (and those are some very strong scare-quotes) Galileo. Let's begin:
Galileo Galilei was a very promising mathmetician and astronomer in the late 1500's and early 1600's. Up until 1616, he held the Copernican idea of heliocentrism and professed that it was not contradictory to Scripture (Psalme 93:1, 96:1, 104:5, and 1 Chronicles 16:30 state something to the effect that "the earth cannot be moved"). However, after a decree by the Congregation of Index declared it false and contrary to Holy Scripture, Galileo refrained (at least initially) to proclaim it as truth but only discussed it as a fiction or a possibility- only a theory, not a fact.
When a friend of Galileo's was elected Pope Urban VIII in 1623, he encouraged Galileo to write a book that would provide scientific arguments for both cases- Heliocentrism and Geocentrism. This is mainly where Galileo got into trouble. In his book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, the defender of Geocentrism (and Pope Urban VIII's point of view) Simplicio, or "simpleton", was often presented as a fool in the text. This mockery, coupled with many accusations against Pope Urban VIII's fortitude in defending the Faith, put Galileo in a very compromised position- he had mocked his strongest and most influential supporter.
In 1632, he was brought to trial for advocating Heliocentrism- which was considered a heresy at the time. Galileo denied that he had intended for the text to advocate Heliocentrism, but admitted that the text could lead the reader to such an interpretation. In the end, Galileo was sentenced to house arrest and his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was banned. It is believed that after the trial he muttered Eppur si muove which means "and yet it moves", a statment supposedly made with a very clear rebellious tone. What is important to know, is that:
1. Galileo could not actually prove outright the Heliocentric theory. He had made calculations which showed it to be possible, and even likely, but could not empirically prove it as a fact. When he insisted that the Sacred Scriptures be reinterpreted based solely on a theory, and nothing more- this is where he got into trouble
2. His house arrest was hardly a punishment. This is not so much a point as a clarification. He was in an Italian villa, with servants, and a chef- all paid for by the Church. If the Church would force me to stay in an Italian Villa with servants and a chef, I would hardly consider it punishment- just saying.
Also, it is important to keep in mind that access to information was much more limited by the technology of the time than today. If one heard proclaimed in the streets that clouds were giant dragons in the sky, chances are they would not have been literate enough (if at all) to fact check those statements and find them false. Therefore, censoring those who are speaking on topics with little to no evidence was very important for the greater good of society, and in the interest of protecting truth. So when Galileo began teaching heliocentrism as truth with not nearly enough evidence to prove the theory outright, and insisting that centuries of scriptural interpretation should change based on this theory- needless to say it was problematic at best.
The Galileo case can be a surprisingly touchy one. I once casually debated this with someone and, after presenting my argument, he simply denied it as false, and refused to supply any evidence to the contrary. So if you find yourself defending the truth of the Galileo case, know that you are up against years of misinformation, and maybe even a smidgen of stubbornness in the other person.
God Bless,
שמואל אוליבר יוסף קרלסון
(Samuel Oliver Joseph Carlson)
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