1. Period 1600-1700 CE
The case of Galileo
Galileo Galilei is considered a founding father of modern science. He was born in 1564 and at 25 became head of mathematics in Pisa, Italy. In 1609, he invented the telescope and discovered mountains and craters on the moon, the four moons of Jupiter, sunspots and more. he theorised and collected evidence that the earth must move round the sun in agreement with the conclusions of the Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, published in 1543.
Galileo impressed the influential Cardinals Bellarmine and Barberini with his theories but they warned he shouldn't regard them as facts. Galileo's teaching that Copernicus must be right came to the attention of Pope Paul V. The case was handed over to the Congregation of the Index. In 1616 the body decided that the heliocentric view was 'foolish and absurd... and formally heretical.' Galileo was warned not to teach or defend his views, else he would be imprisoned. Copernicus' book was put on the Index of banned books hwre it remained until 1822 !
In 1623, Cardinal Barberini became Pope Urban VIII. Galileo regarded him as a friend and in the following year went to Rome and presented him with a microscope. The pope, however, cautioned Galileo: 'You may have irrefutable proof of the earth's motion. This does not prove that the earth actually moves. God is above human reason.' Mystified, Galileo returned to Florence and soon began his major work Dialogue of the Two World Systems. It was published in 1632. The work won great acclaim but the pope was not pleased. Galileo was summoned to Rome. Nearly 70 and in poor health, he travelled 23 days by road and had to wait another two months before appearing before the Inquisition in April 1633.
His main offence: he had breached the injunction of 1616 not to discuss or write about the Copernican system. He was found guilty of 'the heresy of having held the doctrine contrary to the Sacred Scriptures that the sun is the centre of world and does not move...and the earth moves...' The judgment was signed by 7 cardinals. He was forced to confess: 'I, Galileo Galilei, Florentine, aged 70... must abandon the false view that the sun is the centre of the world and stationary.'
He was not tortured but his books were banned and he was ordered to recite the seven penitential psalms each week for three years.
After the 10-day trial, Galileo was interned and was eventually allowed to return home and placed under house arrest. A check was kept on his mail and visitors. By the late 1630s, he had gone quite blind. A request to travel to Florence for medical treatment was refused and he was warned not to ask again. He died in 1642 - the year of Isaac Newton's birth. It was Newton who worked out the mechanics of the solar system in 1682.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI apologised at Pisa for the Inquisition's unjust sentence. IN 1979, Pope John Paul II re-opened Galileo's case but it was not until 1992 that he acknowledged the church's error and apologised.
More on Pope Urban VIII
Like many popes before him, Urban elevated his relatives to high office. Three days after becoming pope, his nephew became a cardinal, next a librarian of the Vatican and finally vice-chancellor. Another nephew became a cardinal and then commander-in-chief of the papal troops. A third nephew was made Prince of Palestrina and Prefect of Rome. Urban's brother was also made a cardinal and received other honours. The Barberini family accumulated immense wealth. It was Urban who decided upon the title Eminence for cardinals, previously called Illustrious and Most Reverend.
Pope Urban spent heavily on military weapons and fortifications. He built Fort Urbano and an arms factory and turned a civil port into a military one. Oddly, he also believed in magic and order the horoscopes for Rome's cardinals to find out how they would die. (Only in 1623, his predecessor Gregory XV had issued a decree against magicians and witches.) Around 1628, fearing a lunar eclipse, Urban ordered reputed astrologer Tommaso Campanella, imprisoned for heresy, to shield him from the evil effects of the eclipse. Campanella selected a room in the Lateran Palace, had it sealed and the walls draped with white silk. Two large lamps (representing the sun and moon) were positioned at favourable locations, together with the signs of the zodiac. Sweet-smelling herbs were burnt and 'planetary' music played. The ritual worked and His Holiness was saved.
Table
of Popes
|
231)
Leo XI 1605 |
|
|
232) Paul V 1605-21 |
233) Gregory XV 1621-23 |
|
234) Urban VIII 1623-44 |
235) Innocent X 1644-55 |
|
236) Alexander VII 1655-67 |
237) Clement IX 1667-69 |
|
238 ) Clement X 1670-76 |
239) Innocent XI 1676-89 |
|
240) Alexander XIII 1689-91 |
241) Innocent XII 1691-1700 |