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The Pope was furious with Galileo,
feeling betrayed. The book which Galileo had produced was very
different from the one he had expected and approved. He had thought
it would give much more weight to the uncertainties and doubts on both
sides of the question. Also, very likely about this time the Pope
learned of the Inquisition minute recording the special injunction
to Galileo not to ``hold, teach, or defend'' the theory, an
injunction which went beyond the public decree of 1616 and about which
Galileo had never informed him. (This injunction had been
delivered under a previous Pope, Paul V.) Obviously, if Galileo had been
given such an injunction, he should have told the Pope about it before
asking his approval for a project that clearly transgressed it.
Besides personal feelings of betrayal, it is
likely that the Pope was concerned for his own credibility, since his
earlier friendship with Galileo was well known, as was his support for
the project of writing the book. Whatever the reason, there is no
question that the Pope's attitude toward Galileo from this time on was
one of personal animosity.
The Inquisition summoned Galileo to Rome in the Fall of 1632.
Despite having alienated the Pope and many other key supporters,
Galileo still had some powerful friends who acted in his favor.
Consequently his case was handled very carefully and he was never
subjected to any sort of harsh treatment. The Inquisition did not
press the most serious charge, that of violating the special
injunction. But he was found ``vehemently suspected'' of heresy for
holding a condemned opinion, namely the earth's motion and the sun's
stability. In a solemn ceremony, Galileo was required to ``abjure,
curse, and detest [these] errors and heresies.'' He was sentenced to
imprisonment for life (which was commuted to house arrest) and the
weekly recitation of the seven penitential Psalms (which his daughter,
a cloistered nun, undertook to perform for him).
The Dialog was banned.
Next: Conclusion
Up: galileo_from_a_different_angle
Previous: Galileo's book on the
Robert Moniot
2004-03-28