“Galileo was the first man with a telescope that looked into the sky. It opened for mankind a hitherto little-known world, expanding the boundaries of our knowledge and forcing us to reread the book of nature in a new look. The Church wants to honor the figure of Galileo, innovative, brilliant son of the Church,” so said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Ravasi made the statement during a presentation at the Vatican for the initiatives planned by the Holy See during the Year of Astronomy.
In the Year of Astronomy, convened by the United Nations to commemorate the first 400 years of astronomical discoveries, the Holy See finds an important opportunity to deepen dialogue on astronomy and the significance of the Tuscan astronomer. The Vatican has admitted that the time has come for a review of the entire Galileo Galilei case, as well as the legitimate autonomy of science. The Church accepts its error of subjective opinion that gave Galileo tremendous suffering.
Galileo was condemned for having acceded to the theory of Copernicus. This belief argued that it was the sun, not Earth, that was the center of the universe. The declaration was against what was thought of at that time. Galileo championed what was a highly controversial theory in his time when the world believed that the earth was the center of the universe. When Galileo presented as fact that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe, the Catholic Church prohibited his statements. Galileo was eventually forced by the Roman Inquisition to recant his declaration. He was put under house arrest during the remaining years of his life.
