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Galileo's trial: the Church and the new science
condemned June 22, 1633; error acknowledged 1992· Event· Church, doctrine & the world
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
In 1633 the Roman Inquisition convicted Galileo of 'vehement suspicion of heresy' for teaching that the Earth moves around the Sun.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Galileo's telescope (1609–1610) revealed Jupiter's moons and the phases of Venus, evidence that supported Copernicus's Sun-centered system. In 1616 the Church banned Copernican books and Cardinal Bellarmine warned Galileo not to hold or defend the view. His Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632) appeared to mock Pope Urban VIII, once his friend. Tried in Rome, he recanted on June 22, 1633, and lived under house arrest near Florence until his death in 1642, still writing.
Why it matters
It became the classic symbol of religion versus science, though the real story mixed science, Bible interpretation, politics and personalities.
Sources and history
The trial file in the Vatican archives (published 1984) and Galileo's letters survive, including his 1615 letter quoting a cardinal: the Bible teaches 'how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go'.
Questions and debates
His defiant 'And yet it moves' is almost certainly legend. Historians also debate how strong his proof really was in 1633; stellar parallax was not measured until 1838.
Connections (2)
▸The Inquisition conducted Galileo's trial: the Church and the new scienceHistorical record
The connection
The Roman Inquisition (Holy Office), set up in 1542 to fight Protestant heresy, judged matters of doctrine. Its advisers declared Copernicus's Sun-centered idea 'formally heretical' in 1616. In 1633 its cardinals tried Galileo for breaking the 1616 order, questioned him under threat of torture and made him kneel and abjure; seven of the ten judges signed the sentence.
When and where
Rome, at the Dominican convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, April–June 1633; Galileo was 69 and in poor health.
Historical evidence
The Inquisition's trial file, including the sentence and Galileo's signed abjuration, is preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Archive (formerly the 'Secret Archive').
Questions and debates
Whether a disputed, unsigned 1616 record ordering Galileo not to 'teach in any way' the Copernican view was genuine or irregular is still debated.
▸Pope John Paul II admitted the Church's error in Galileo's trial: the Church and the new scienceHistorical record
The connection
In 1979 John Paul II asked for a fresh look at the Galileo case, and a commission studied it from 1981. On October 31, 1992, he told the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that Galileo's judges had erred by reading Scripture as a science text, calling it a 'tragic mutual incomprehension'. It was the Church's clearest admission of the error.
When and where
Vatican City: November 10, 1979 (the request) and October 31, 1992 (the address), 359 years after the condemnation.
Historical evidence
The Vatican published the text of the 1992 address, and the commission's findings were presented with it.
Questions and debates
Critics say it blamed 'theologians' rather than the institution and never formally annulled the sentence; defenders call it as full an apology as a church can give.