SOMEthing to THINK ABOUT

on the INDEX, the Vatican's list of forbidden books

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) rocked the existing worldview and religious thoughts and dogma, by proposing, after several scientific experiments (with a Dutch telescope), that our planet is not the centre of God's universe but was in fact one of several planets orbiting the sun.

The Catholic Church rejected and condemned this analysis and in an infamous trial by the Inquisition in Rome (1632), Galileo was forced to admit publicly that he had been wrong and his writings were forbidden. Furthermore he was sentenced to house-arrest for life and forbidden to publish anything on this subject and/or have contact with other scientists.

But Galileo's new view on the cosmos and the solar system became prevalent and found his way into Europe's mainstream science.

It took the Roman Catholic Church till 1822 to lift the ban on his books and thoughts.