Most people know that Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church for his scientific views during his lifetime. As time progressed, Galileo’s theories became well known and accepted scientifically. Theologians and Church leaders alike came to realize that the fact that God created a world where the Earth revolves around the Sun is not a threat to our Christian faith.
More recently, the Church officially pardoned Galileo during Pope John Paul II’s papacy. Now during 2009, which has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Astronomy, the Catholic Church is contributing to the celebrations and discussions of Galileo and the impact of his life.
From May 27 to 30, the Vatican and other Catholic organizations are gathering in Florence, Italy for a world congress. “For the first time after 400 years, members of the Vatican Observatory, the Pontifical Council for Culture, The Sciences Academy and many other Institutions that were historically involved in the Galileo affair, are among the experts invited to the congress with a view to showing how ‘recent scientific and historical research’ might alleviate the ‘tension and conflict’ still clouding the relationship between the church and science.” The entire program can be downloaded here. This is one of several events being co-sponsored by organizations within the Vatican. Others include a special exhibit on Galileo at the Vatican Museums in October.
My father always used to say that the Church moved slowly. I would say that 400 years qualifies as a slow pace. But at least the Church does move. Let’s celebrate the progress and also celebrate Galileo’s life this year.
