Sarah Jones: 2023 Horizon Project
The Catholic Church
and its involvement in in the advancement of science and technology.
Common Misconception: The Catholic Church is against science.
The "Galileo Myth"
The Truth
At the time of this affair, the Church maintained the geocentric theory, which is the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe, and everything revolves around it. Many people believe that the Italian scientist Galileo proposed the Copernican heliocentric theory, or the idea that everything revolves around the sun, and the Church disagreed, ultimately excommunicating Galileo. This myth is simply incorrect, as it fails to mention the real reasons behind Galileo's trials, and the fact that he was not excommunicated.
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In 1609, Galileo wrote Siderius Nuncius, a book that supported Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, the writings of which seemingly contradicted the natural philosophy of Aristotle in the eyes of the church
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In 1615, it was confirmed that Galileos writings conformed with Catholic Doctrine. Despite this...
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In 1616, Galileo was put on trial as it appeared he had interpreted scripture privately, and that putting the sun in the center of the universe was contrary to scripture. Galileo was asked to give up his Copernican views, which he agreed to.
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In 1623, Galileo was kindly received by the newly elected Pope Urban VIII.
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Soon after, despite his agreed abandonment of Copernican views, Galileo began working on his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which strongly favored the heliocentric theory. This infuriated Pope Urban VIII, who insisted Galileo be put on trial.
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Despite the writings of St. Bellarmine on behalf of Galileo, the scientist was found guilty of “vehement suspicion of heresy”
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He was later sentenced to house arrest, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Although one cannot deny the faults of the Church during the Galileo affair, it is important to note that the central reasoning behind the controversy was not the Church versus science. Instead, it was a conflict resulting from disagreements between very arrogant people. Ultimately, it is important to acknowledge that the individual viewpoints of those involved in the Galileo affair do not reflect the ideals taught by the Church.
The Vatican Observatory
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Due to the misconceptions of the Church resulting from the Galileo affair, the Catholic Church has worked hard to establish its role as a patron of the sciences. The institution of astronomical research in the church can be traced back to 1582 under the direction of Pope Gregory XIII, to assist in the reformation of the Julian calendar. In 1891, Pope Leo XIII founded the Vatican Observatory, located on a hilltop behind St. Peter’s Basilica.
Unfortunately, due to light pollution resulting from a growing Vatican City, the Vatican Observatory was moved to the Alban Hills, around 25 km away from Rome. It is here that three new telescopes were built to continue the map of the sky, and an astrophysical laboratory for spectro-chemical analysis was installed. Once again, light pollution clouded the skies surrounding the Vatican Observatory, leading to the establishment of the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG) in 1981, located in Tucson, Arizona. In 1993, collaborating with the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona, the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) was constructed. The VATT is located on Mt. Graham, Arizona, which is considered to be one of the best astronomical sites in the US.
