Though centuries old, Catholic urban legends usually crop up as rhetorical devices meant to undermine positions taken by the Church on current public issues. That’s why Catholics questioning the morality and ethics of embryonic stem cell research, for example, will suddenly have Galileo thrown in their face. Rather than argue the issue at hand, those opposed to the Church position dust off a non-historical legend from the trial of Galileo to make the case that the contemporary Church opposes any and all scientific advances.
