Galileo And The Catholic Church

The Catholic church has performed many acts of injustice in order to retain their political power and influence throughout the world. One of the most prominent acts committed by the church within the world of science was the prosecution of Galileo Galilei. Galileo had become the father of modern science, due to his scientific breakthroughs and revolutionizing modern technology. However, Galileo’s supporting argument for the Copernican heliocentric theory of the universe had caught the Church’s attention, and they would go on to accuse Galileo of heresy, forcing him to spend the rest of his life under house arrest. The battle between Galileo and the Holy Office was a long and treacherous one, with Galileo being condemned not once, but twice.
The questioning of texts was not something new to the Church, but after the Protestant reformation, the Church ruled that any challenge of the Holy Scripture was seen as an act of heresy (Henderson). The Church saw his discoveries as a direct attack against Holy Scripture and their authority, so many Catholic supporters arose and delivered sermons which took action against Galileo and his beliefs, such as Dominican Tommaso Caccini, who preached against Galileo in Florence (December 20, 1614). In this sermon, he directly spoke out against Galileo, while quoting Joshua 1:11 “Viri Galilaei, quid statis adspicientes in caelum?” (Men of Galilee, why stand gazing up at the heavens?, Helden) This marked another time in which the Church and its followers took direct action against those who they believed challenged its authority and power. Though many of the Church supporters did not know whether the Church was right or wrong, their blind devotion led them to condemn Galileo
At first, the Church supported his work. The new Pope was one who understood that science could be used to prove religion true. However, as Galileo’s ideas began to spread and influence society, Catholic leaders began to see Galileo’s work as heresy (Rowland). Beginning with the “Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems”, the Pope did not see it directly as an act of heresy. However, many Catholic leaders recognized that the character Simplicio was meant to undermine the Church’s beliefs. Though it is apparent that this character was created to offend the Church, Galileo did not originally intend for him to do so. Rather, he was used to contrast the other characters who supported what Galileo truly believed (Galilei). The result was many Church leaders thought he wrote this book as an act of heresy. Of course, this was not the case, but the Church assumed it anyway. Eventually, the Jesuit leaders who fought against Galileo persuaded the pope to side with them, persuading him into thinking that Galileo had truly condemned the Church. 
 The pope then decided to turn the matter over to the inquisition who quickly assumed that the “Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems”, was heresy rather than allow for a proper, just case. Galileo was summoned to Rome in order to be held on trial for