Galileo restored to the heavens

THE Church's definitive rehabilitation of Galileo Galilei, the father of modern science, marks the end of centuries of Vatican "interference" in the sphere of science.
That was the immediate view of Italian scientists and physicists this week following Pope John Paul 11's official "absolution" of Galileo, 359 years after the Holy Office condemned the Tuscan scientist for elaborating the "heretical" theory that the earth moves around the sun.
At a solemn ceremony in the Vatican, Pope John Paul officially concluded the deliberations of the special Pontifical Commission he created 13 years ago to study Galileo's ecclesiastical trial, heralding the Church's centuries-long conflict with the world of science. The ad hoc commission concluded that the Pisa-born scientist should he rehabilitated, both for his work and for his "genuine faith".