The Inquisition

and

Galileo

Perhaps nothing has had such an impact on the Catholic Church's relationship with science than the drama that played out between Galileo Galilei and the Inquisition.  Exactly what were the issues involved?  Was the Inquisition's silencing of Galileo a reaction to a true conflict between reason and faith or was it simply another political maneuver in a war of survival between the Church and rising Protestantism?

The Inquisition        Letter to Grand Duchess Christina        Pope Urban VIII

The Church in 1992 and Galileo        Bertolt Brecht's play Life of Galileo