Note the word “grudgingly.”
I noted it. I thought about responding, but the tone of the post was clearly antagonistic to the Church.
BTW, geocentrism was the prevailing theory of the day, among more than just the Church. Indeed, Copernicus published his theory of heliocentrism before Galileo was even born, and he suffered no backlash. Indeed, the Pope and Cardinals hearing of his theory praised him and urged him to publish (
source):Some years ago word reached me concerning your proficiency, of which everybody constantly spoke. At that time I began to have a very high regard for you… For I had learned that you had not merely mastered the discoveries of the ancient astronomers uncommonly well but had also formulated a new cosmology. In it you maintain that the earth moves; that the sun occupies the lowest, and thus the central, place in the universe… Therefore with the utmost earnestness I entreat you, most learned sir, unless I inconvenience you, to communicate this discovery of yours to scholars, and at the earliest possible moment to send me your writings on the sphere of the universe together with the tables and whatever else you have that is relevant to this subject …
Opposition to heliocentrism wasn’t only based in religious objections, and Galileo’s conflict with the Church had little to do with his theories. Rather, it had to do with the promulgation of heliocentrism as “certain”, rather then theoretical. At the time of Galileo’s trials, he too was espousing the certainty of heliocentrism, and was warned not to do so. Coperincus’ work was blocked pending correction (
source):On 5 March, 1616, the work of Copernicus was forbidden by the Congregation of the Index “until corrected”, and in 1620 these corrections were indicated. Nine sentences, by which the heliocentric system was represented as certain, had to be either omitted or changed. This done, the reading of the book was allowed.
Copernicus’ work was available for 70 years prior to this required correction. And only until it was clearly espoused as a theory was it permitted to be released. The conflict between the Church and science, as popularly promoted, is based in ignorance of the real story. Indeed, the Church had always been the friend of science prior to Galileo, during Galileo, and after Galileo.
