Galileo Galilei (b. 1564-d. 1642) was an Italian Catholic who taught physics, mathematics and astronomy. During his lifetime—the Protestant Reformation began about 50 years before his birth—most of the scientists and schools were Catholic. Even many priests were professors of science. Through the efforts and organization of Catholics, college education was perfected, made widely available, and prospered during the medieval centuries (12^th -15^th). Because of the scandal created by Galileo, many often regard the Catholic Church during his time to be an "enemy of science." There is, however, no truth to this assertion. It is precisely because of the Church that science during the medieval years made so many important advances. One of the greatest teachers of science was a Dominican priest: St. Albert the Great.

The Galileo Controversy
The scientific theory that the sun is the center of the universe was first formally proposed by the Polish Catholic, Nicholas Copernicus, who died 21 years before Galileo was born. Copernicus published a book about his theory and dedicated it to Pope Paul III. There was no objection from the Catholic Church to his book nor his theory of a sun-centered universe. The scientist went on to become a well respected clergyman.

Many years later, Galileo promoted the same theory of a sun-centered universe, but he did so in a much different way than Copernicus. Galileo insisted that his theory was the only way to look at the heavens and that it represented a contradiction of Scripture. Church authorities took issue with the impertinent scientist because he claimed that the theory of Copernicus was at odds with what the Church held to be true. The Church, however, did not deny the possible truth of the theory; she merely denied that the theory, as stated by Galileo, was a contradiction of Scripture. Some people today think that the Church at that time believed the world was flat and that she objected to Galileo’s claim that the earth is actually round. This is false. Both Galileo and the Church knew that the world was round.

Defending the integrity of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine corrected Galileo’s erroneous claim so that he would cease causing people to doubt what the Church taught through Scripture. He continued, however, to make scandal by reasserting his false claims. Because of this Galileo was placed under arrest and confined to the rooms of a Roman palace. Many stories are told that Galileo was tortured or imprisoned. The truth is that he was confined to the residence of a cardinal where he continued to write on scientific matters.

Galileo suffered from the sin of pride through his actions against the authority of the Church. In the end, after his confinement, he proved to be a faithful son of the Church. Known as a "martyr for science", Galileo was merely a brilliant scientist who sought controversy by advancing a false notion that his theory of sun-centered universe somehow conflicted with what the Catholic Church taught as truth.

The real issue was not whether the earth was flat or round; the real issue was whether or not science is the ultimate arbiter of all knowledge about the natural world. The Church is no enemy of science, but she will not commit herself to any current fads in science and alter the Catholic world view just because popular opinion is on the side of science as was the case with the Galileo controversy.