Galileo sentenced for offending Pope or for heliocentrism?

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dominikus28

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I’ve heard that Galileo was sentenced not for his scientific theories, but more for his offense of the Pope, who he refereed to in one of his writings as a simpleton.

However, in his official sentence, it says:
The proposition that the Sun is the center of the world and does not move from its place is absurd and false philosophically and formally heretical, because it is expressly contrary to Holy Scripture.
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So Galileo WAS at least suspected of the formally heretical proposition that the Sun is the center of the universe.

Am I reading this wrong?
 
dominikus28 said:
So Galileo WAS at least suspected of the formally heretical proposition that the Sun is the center of the universe.
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Yes, by the Cardinals who wrote this decree. Since neither Galileo, nor anyone else at the time, could provide sufficient evidence for their positions, the literal interpretation of certain Biblical passages would of course be given greater weight than a non-literal one.

An interesting treatment of this question can be found here: geocentrismdebunked.org/the-1633-decree-is-not-a-papal-document-is-not-infallible-and-therefore-is-reformable/

A relevant quote:
Father Fabri, a French Jesuit, afterwards Grand Penitentiary at Rome, says in a dissertation published there in 1661 against the “Systema Saturnium,” of Huyghens (p. 49), that as no valid evidence can be adduced for the truth of the new system, the authorities of the Church are quite right in interpreting the passages of Holy Scripture relating to the universe literally; “but,” he adds, “if ever any conclusive reasons are discovered (which I do not expect), I do not doubt that the Church will say that they are to be taken figuratively,” a remark which no priest would have made about a doctrine pronounced heretical by infallible authority.
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As an aside: Galileo was well-known for engaging in a sort of party trick. He would take up two, contrary positions in relation to a question, and provide elaborate argumentation for both sides, so as to show off his intelligence and wow his audience.

This is not unimportant, because I believe that the Inquisition suspected Galileo of trying to play them. His argumentation was not conclusive (perhaps it was even bad) and his character was suspect.
 
Oh, by the way.

The statement “absurd and false philosophically” probably refers to the reality that Heliocentrism was by no means established scientifically—in accord with natural philosophy—and all argumentation led to nothing at all resembling the clarity of fact.
 
Galileo’s troubles came from continuing to teach unsubstantiated theory as fact, even after being warned and agreed to no longer do so. Had he taught his heliocentric system as theory, he would have never had a problem. It also did not help that he portrayed the pope, who at that time was a supporter of his, as a simpleton. He sounds like a guy who made bad decisions.
 
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