Galileo Galilei
Scientist (1564 – 1642)

Galileo dared to question the prevailing worldview that the sun and stars revolved around the earth.  His idea that humans are players – not centerpieces – in the cosmic mystery was heretical.  It overturned the astronomy, philosophy, and theology of his times.  Yet the truth of his perspective continues to be confirmed, even as SuperWASP digital cameras capture data about stars far outside our solar system.  We can thank Galileo for a new impetus to explore – and continue exploring – the scope of the universe and how we fit in.  – The Gratefulness Webteam

The scientist Galileo, who was born in Pisa in 1564, achieved his original fame through his invention of the thermometer, his experiments in physics and mechanics, and his refinement of the telescope.  The telescope inspired a passion for astronomy that would lead, eventually, to his condemnation by the church.  The issue was Galileo’s determination to prove the theory of the Polish scientist Nicholas Copernicus (d. 1543) that the earth revolved around the sun.

Those who challenged the geocentric view of the universe had to contend not only with the ancient authority of Aristotle and Ptolemy by with the evidence of the senses:  the sun, after all, clearly appeared to rise and set.  More importantly, however, there was the apparent evidence of many scriptural passages that referred to the motion of the sun.  For the church thus was the most decisive issue.  The works of Copernicus and his theories – except insofar as they were presented merely as “hypotheses” – were formally condemned by the Holy Office.

Still, Galileo labored to prove that Copernicus was right.  A number of scientists and even interested theologians were sympathetic to his efforts.  Many of them, like Galileo, disputed the notion that the authority of Scripture should be extended to scientific matters.  In the famous words of Cardinal Baronious, “The Holy Ghost intended to teach us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.”  Nevertheless, Galileo was formally instructed to desist from his work on Copernican astronomy.  When he violated this injunction he was summoned to Rome by the Holy Office.

The trial of Galileo occurred in 1633.  In light of his advanced age (seventy) and his poor health, he was treated with reasonable courtesy.  Rather than the customary prison cell he was housed in a comfortable room.  Nevertheless, he needed little reminder of the perils of his situation.  The pope had issued a document threatening him with torture if he did not cheerfully submit to the findings of the court.  In the end Galileo was condemned as “vehemently suspected of heresy” for maintaining the doctrine “which is false and contrary to the Sacred and Divine Scriptures, that the sun is the center of the world and does not move from east to west and that the earth moves and is not the center of the world.”

Galileo, who throughout his ordeal had maintained his devout faith and firm commitment to the authority of the church, at this point fell on his knees and formally abjured any heretical opinions he may have held.  Convinced of his sincere repentance, the court spared him the sentence of imprisonment.  Instead he was confined to house arrest in Florence for the rest of his life.  There he continued his scientific work.  But by 1638 Galileo, the man who had first seen mountains on the moon, was completely blind.  On January 8, 1642, he died.

For many centuries Galileo’s ordeal remained a blot on the Christian conscience.  Only in the 1990’s did Pope John Paul II authorize a papal commission to review his trial and condemnation.  The result was a papal decree formally absolving Galileo of heresy and acknowledging the error of the church’s previous judgment.  The error was attributed, in part, to the church’s deficient understanding, at that time, of the nature and authority of Scripture.

And so it has come to pass that the Galileo case, long a symbol of ecclesial obscurantism, has become a signal of the church’s ability to recognize and repent of its historic failings.  There remains a tendency to claim that the church, as it was once said of the earth, cannot move.  To this the legendary words ascribed to Galileo remain appropriate.  In making his abjuration, he is said to have whispered under his breath “Nevertheless, it moves.”

Additional Resources
See: Jerome J. Langford, O.P., Galileo, Science and the Church (New York:  Desclée, 1966).

For more information, see The Galileo Project.