BBC News reports that the current Pope has canceled his upcoming visit to La Sapienza University. Why? He’s afraid of the faculty and students!
Sixty-seven academics had said the Pope condoned the 1633 trial and conviction of the astronomer Galileo for heresy.
While 1633 was indeed a long time ago, Pope Benedict (before becoming Pope) had approvingly quoted a philosopher’s argument that Galileo’s conviction was “rational and just”. This would be the trial that made Galileo recant the now obvious notion that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System, forcing him to say:
I, Galileo, son of the late Vincenzio Galilei of Florence, seventy years of age, arraigned personally for judgment, kneeling before you Most Eminent and Most Reverend Cardinals Inquisitors-General against heretical depravity in all of Christendom, having before my eyes and touching with my hands the Holy Gospels, swear that I have always believed, I believe now, and with God’s help I will believe in the future all that the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church holds, preaches, and teaches. However, whereas, after having been judicially instructed with injunction by the Holy Office to abandon completely the false opinion that the sun is the center of the world and does not move and the earth is not the center of the world and moves, and not to hold defend, or teach this false doctrine in any way whatever, orally or in writing; and after having been notified that this doctrine is contrary to Holy Scripture; I wrote and published a book in which I treat of this already condemned doctrine and adduce very effective reasons in its favor, without refuting them in any way; therefore, I have been judged vehemently suspected of heresy, namely of having held and believed that the sun is the center of the world and motionless and the earth is not the center and moves.
Therefore, desiring to removed from the minds of Your Eminences and every faithful Christian this vehement suspicion, rightly conceived against me, with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith I abjure, curse, and detest the above-mentioned errors and heresies, and in general each and every other error, heresy, and sect contrary to the Holy Church; and I swear that in the future I will never again say or assert, orally or in writing, anything which might cause a similar suspicion about me; on the contrary, if I should come to know any heretic or anyone suspected of heresy, I will denounce him to this Holy Office, or to the Inquisitor or Ordinary of the place where I happen to be.
This trial was, of course, neither rational nor just, and the Italian academics are right to hold Pope Benedict accountable for implying that it was. Instead, it is one of the more well-known early examples of religion suppressing science, and it’s absurd to try to spin it as anything else.
At least Pope John Paul II had the sense to admit that Galileo’s inquisitors goofed.