In 1616, an Inquisitorial Commission was called to investigate charges of heresy against a man named Galileo Galilei. Galileo was the then leading man arguing for the Copernican model of the Heliocentric universe. Galileo's work was declared a heresy and he was ordered never to speak of it again. This is the story people often cite when advancing the idea that the Church was always anti-science, and that scientists had to fight tooth and nail to get anything done.

Expect that's complete crap (and bad history).

Galileo was a minority in his time. Most astronomers did not believe in the Heliocentric universe and considered Copernicus a crazy old cod, and Galileo an idiot for listening to him. Galileo argued for years with fellow scientists over the issue to no avail. They called him a quack, attacked his math, his personal interests, and being a bunch of Christians, cited Biblical passages that they argued proved the sun rotated around the Earth (These passages are Pslams chapters 93, 96, and 104).

Galileo attempted to counter the claims that the Copernican model was heresy (cause he wasn't an idiot and knew that being called a heretic was not something you really wanted to have happen to you in 17th century Italy). He argued from Augustinian theology, cause surprise, intellectuals in this time and era were usually very well versed in Christian theological concepts. He argued that the Bible was not speaking literally, and shouldn't be taken as such. Galileo won many members of the clergy and nobility with his argument.

At a diner party in 1613, one of his students Abbot Benedetto Castelli wrote his mentor to inform him of an event. To make it shorter, at the party Benedetto debated the Copernican model with a philosopher named Cosimo Boscaglia. After the diner, he was recalled by a woman named Christina, the Duchess of Lorraine to answer questions about the Copernican model. Benedetto managed to convince everyone in the room (including clergy) that the Copernican model was not against scripture save Christina.

In response Galileo wrote to her in 1615. In the letter he put forth a theological argument, because Galileo was a Christian. He didn't disagree with the Bible, he was annoyed at how everyone was taking it so literally (personally I can relate). Unfortunately, this was a very bad idea. Galileo and Benedetto were under the mistaken impression that Christina was curious. She was not. She in fact thought they were both heretics. Mistaking her for having been won over to his side, Galileo pushed the later.

When the letter began to be circulated in an expanded format as a pamphlet later that year it crossed the path of Tommaso Caccini, a friar and a Dominican. He brought it to the attention of his order who believed that the letter contained passages that violated the Council of Trent. Here's the thing about the Dominicans. They were among the most conservative of the Christian orders. Always had been. The Church as a whole body did not call the Inquisition on Galileo. The Dominicans did.

The Dominicans forwarded Galileos letter along with a cover letter of their own accusing him and his followers of all kinds of things (most of the charges they leveled against him were false). Galileo heard about this pretty fast and was rightly worried but he was in poor health and could not travel. This meant that in Rome he was being accused of a lot of things, and had few supporters in the Vatican itself to defend him (really, many of them only knew of Galileo in passing, and the Dominican charges were the first time Galileo was really coming to their attention). By the time Galileo could finally go to Rome, against the advice of everyone because it was a really bad idea, the Domincans had a new ally in casting their aspersions; The astronomy community. Yeah. Galileo was being condemned by other scientists in front of the Inquisition.

Galileo did not fully realize however he had a powerful ally. Robert Bellarmine. A Jesuit and a Cardinal who was one of the most respected Theologians of his time. Bellarmine had previously spoken with Galileo, advising him to tread carefully with his arguments as they put him in a dangerous position (obviously Galileo didn't listen). Bellarmine did not discount the Copernican model. Rather he was open to it and curious, unlike Christina. He warned Galileo to be careful and build a powerful body of scientific proof before really pushing his theory and that he'd need to tread carefully when addressing scripture so as not to offend the Holy See. Bellarmine accurately described the issue of the Copernican model not as one strictly about the faith, but one that would become involved if Galileo was not careful. Obviously, Galileo didn't listen to Bellarmine. Nevertheless when the Inquisition began looking into Galileo, the Jesuits were the ones who moved to defend him, saying that the charges brought against him lacked evidence and overreached, accusing Galileo of things he had not expressly done (note here, that one Christian order brings Galileo to the attention of the Church, while another hoped to defend him).

When the Galileo arrived in Rome, Bellarmine was chosen to arbitrate the dispute. The events from here get a little muddled as some unusual things happened. The Inquisition was quick to forward the case to a group of theologians called 'Qualifiers.' There were men who were presented with Galileo's work and asked to examine it. The problem? Half the Qualifiers were Dominicans (no one had really caught onto conflict of interest as a concept just yet). The Qualifiers response resulted in the Inquisition declaring Heliocentrism heresy. Galileo was ordered Bellarmine to deliver the verdict, and shocked everyone when his verdict was even harsher than the one the Inquisition called for. On its face.

See, Bellarmine was a crafty guy. At this point, there was no way to save the Copernican model. It was quickly declared false and Copernicus' work was banned when a body of Astronomers (yes scientists, again) sent a formal request that the Church do so. However, Bellarmine was able to save Galileo from punishment. Galileo was ordered to cease public teaching and discussion of Copernicus' theories, but note that he was ordered to cease public discussion. Further, Bellarmine's wording of the ruling was such that the only thing Galileo couldn't do was advocate the theory. He and others were still allowed to discuss it as a hypothetical (Galileo seemingly did not get this part). Bellarmine had craftily given Galileo a way out and a way to continue his work while throwing all attention away from him. After all, the theory was banned. In time everyone would just forget about him and he could find an opportunity to begin again. The Pope, Gregory XV, under Bellarmine's recommendation promised Galileo would not be harmed for supporting Copernicus' model prior to its ban.

Galileo pretty much disappeared for several years. He was never actually forced to recant or do penance, though his supporters made such claims (this was part of the ongoing propaganda war of the Reformation, which Galileo was being kind of sucked into but it never directly came to bite him). It all went to hell in 1623. Gregory died and was succeeded by Urban VIII. Galileo saw this as his chance. He knew Urban VIII. Born Mafio Barberini, both men came from the Florence area (Galileo was born in Pisa) and had studied together when they were younger. Galileo went to Rome personally to Congratulate his friend, and to get some help.

In 1632, with permission from the Inquisition and help from Urban VIII, Galileo was allowed to write about the Copernican model. He wrote Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1633 in Florence. The book became a best seller. Though Astronomers at large still heavily opposed Galileo, he had since his first trial won over many others in private (thanks Bellarmine). Barbeni had supported Galileo during his trial, and though it was never openly discussed, Galileo took his friends election as an opportunity to publicly argue for the Copernican model with the hope that his friends in the church would support him against rival elements in the Churchs.

The book portrays a conversation between three men about the Copernical and Ptolemic models of the Universe. Now note, officially, the Copernican model was still banned. Galileo even had to change the original title (Dialogue on the Tides) and do some rewriting because of the today lesser known but equally big deal then Theory of Tides, which used the Copernican model as part of its proof and the Inquisition had again been used by Dominicans and scientists to silence the minority arguing in favor of the theory. Galileo was able to do this by presenting the book as an argument about science using the Copernican controversy as a model (this idea was proposed by a pupil who was also one of Urban's aids. Yes one of Galileo's pupils worked directly for the Pope).

Thus we come to the point where Galileo shoots himself in the foot. Urban was excited when Galileo presented his first draft. Like Bellarmine, he warned Galileo to be careful (the Pope naturally has to consider his own political position) and not to be too aggressive in his arguments. He also requested his own thoughts on the matter be included in the book, which Galileo agreed to do. Galileo seemingly, didn't think thought everything he was doing. In the book, a man named Simplicio argues for the Ptolemic model. In the book, Simplicio comes off as a complete idiot. Simplicio in Italian was a word for Simpleton. Galileo did not heed Urban's warning, and the book was very aggressively in favor of the Copernican model to the point that the Inquisition went to the Pope and said Galileo broke the rules, going from a mere hypothetical discussion to advocacy.

Unfortunately for Galileo, Urban's argument is presented by Simplicio (the guy who comes off as a simpleton in the book). Thusly insulted, Urban stopped supporting Galileo and set the dogs on him. As the knowledge of this insult spread through the Church body, Galileo lost his other long standing supporters, the Jesuits. Apparently, everyone in the Catholic church draws a line at insulting the Pope. This is the point where the Inquisition went torture and penance on him. He was called to Rome and charged with Heresy and this time no one stood up to help him. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest, though I note that much of that time was spent under the protection of an Archbishop who personally approached Galileo about his safety after the tiral and offered him protection in his own residence. Galileo continued to be a scientist and made notable contributions to physics.

Now the issue of Urban turning on Galileo is more complicated than the slight insult, but I think I've gone on long enough. The reason I've bored everyone with this long ass story is thus; This idea that the Church was anti-science is too simple a view of history. It's not accurate. Galileo wasn't even hit with a hammer for his science he was hit when everyone said he insulted the Pope. Further persecution directed at him didn't just come from the Church, it came from scientists who jumped at the chance to shut Galileo up (as a side matter, apparently he was kind of a dick) and these scientists and philosophers stood in the majority. Most of his support came from the nobility and from inside the Church itself.

Galileo's pupils had a lot more luck than him. Their greatest supporter? Pope Urban VIII, who crushed Galileo but continued to quietly back many of those who argued for the Heliocentric universe. Several other Popes would do the same until it was unbanned in the 19th century, though by that time scientists no longer cared as much about what the Church did or did not ban.