St Robert Bellarmine and Galileo: Is the Church Against Science?

This Wednesday is the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine. Robert was a Cardinal and bishop in Naples, Italy right at the turn of the 17 ^th century. He was known for his austerity, intelligence, and his pastoral care for the people of Naples. The reason I thought it might be productive to discuss him is because he was one of the main examiners of the scientist Galileo and decided whether Galileo would be allowed to teach his new astronomic theory. Galileo was a good Catholic and an intelligent man who followed the theory of Copernicus that the earth moved around the sun and not the other way around. This was an old theory espoused by some of the ancient Greeks but not accepted by most scientists at the time. So, why would the Church get involved with a scientific theory? Many anti-Catholic people mock the Church for opposing Galileo and mistreating him, referring to our faith as being irrational and opposed to science. Is this true?


First off, Robert Bellarmine himself proves that the Church is not opposed to science. Here is a man, a Jesuit, who understood science very well. In the Jesuit order, professional science flourished. Take astronomy, for instance, there are 35 craters on the moon named after individual Jesuit scientists. To this day, the Vatican maintains an observatory. Copernicus himself dedicated his book about how the earth revolves around the sun to Pope Paul III. Copernicus was not at all considered a heretic. The Church did not consider itself bound to stop scientific debate because it somehow threatened the faith. This has never happened!




The theory that the earth moved around the sun was not doubted by only the Church, it was doubted by the majority of other scientists too! Many other scientists did not believe Galileo yet, and their reason was not theological but scientific. Namely, because their equipment was not yet strong enough to observe the shift in the position of the stars as the earth changed position, science still had an evidence based critique. Now that our telescopes are better, we do see that shift in the stars.



This debate could have easily continued with no Church interference. Galileo, just like Copernicus, could have argued for his theory and he eventually would have won. Here is where he ran into trouble; he began defending his theory against a literal interpretation of scripture. So, he had these opponents who were saying that the Bible talks about the sun rising in the sky and whatnot, meaning that his theory couldn't be true. What he ought to have done was say that scripture interpretation was not his area of expertise. Instead, he argued that, because his science said otherwise, those passages of Scripture were not to be interpreted literally. Funny enough, his interpretation was correct! As Augustine put it, "One does not read in the Gospel that the Lord said: "I will send you the [Holy Spirit] who will teach you about the course of the sun and moon." For he willed to make them Christians, not mathematicians." Even though correct, he was interpreting scripture for the Church, and he was making the Bible subordinate to science, and the Church, already sensitive about the protestant reformation, did not like that!

Galileo's scripture interpretation was condemned and he asked that his friend Robert Bellarmine intervene. Bellarmine did, and he concluded that Galileo ought not to defend his theory as a fact, but was welcome to continue advancing it as a conjecture. Galileo was even encouraged to write another book on the topic. Unfortunately, in his new book he made fun of the Pope and mocked Jesuit scientists. This is when he went to trial (not to torture or prison!) and the verdict forced him to recant. There is the anti-Catholic rumor that after being forced to deny his scientific theory, Galileo muttered "And yet it does move." This is a complete fabrication, he never said this and he recanted not his scientific theory but his scripture interpretation. In a day and age when witches were being burned in Salem, MA, this was a mild rebuke. This was, we must admit, a partial error by the Church. Surprise, this happens! We should be careful to note that this was an error of discipline, not of theology. The Church had the theology correct all the time, and the mistake of science was to attempt to do theology for the Church. These are two separate spheres of study, both attending to the same truth that God created the world, but using different means.

So, is the Church anti-science? Not at all! We must draw a distinction between the philosophy of science and theology. Whenever a scientist makes theological claims, say for instance the belief that evolution disproves the existence of God, the Church will caution them of the error. The Church will never, ever and has never been opposed to science. Your faith does not require you to be opposed to reason.

Whether you consider yourself an intellectual or a fan of science or not, we know that to love God and adore him is the most reasonable action of all, for it is God who made us and to him that we return. As S.t Robert Bellarmine says,

"The school of Christ is the school of love. In the last day, when the general examination takes place...Love will be the whole syllabus."