AnyhistoryofthevictoryofastronomicalscienceoverdogmatictheologywouldbeincompletewithoutsomeaccountoftheretreatmadebytheChurchfromallitsformerpositionsintheGalileocase。
TheretreatoftheProtestanttheologianswasnotdifficult。A
littleskilfulwarpingofScripture，alittleskilfuluseofthattime-honouredphrase，attributedtoCardinalBaronius，thattheBibleisgiventoteachus，nothowtheheavensgo，buthowmengotoheaven，andafreeuseofexplosiverhetoricagainstthepursuingarmyofscientists，sufficed。
ButintheolderChurchitwasfarlesseasy。Theretreatofthesacro-scientificarmyofChurchapologistslastedthroughtwocenturies。
Inspiteofallthathasbeensaidbytheseapologists，therenolongerremainstheshadowofadoubtthatthepapalinfallibilitywascommittedfullyandirrevocablyagainstthedoublerevolutionoftheearth。AsthedocumentsofGalileo’strialnowpublishedshow，PaulV，in1616，pushedonwithallhismightthecondemnationofGalileoandoftheworksofCopernicusandofallothersteachingthemotionoftheeartharounditsownaxisandaroundthesun。So，too，inthecondemnationofGalileoin1633，andinalltheproceedingswhichleduptoitandwhichfollowedit，UrbanVIIIwasthecentralfigure。Withouthissanctionnoactioncouldhavebeentaken。
True，thePopedidnotformallysignthedecreeagainsttheCopernicantheoryTHEN；butthiscamelater。In1664AlexanderVIIprefixedtotheIndexcontainingthecondemnationsoftheworksofCopernicusandGalileoand“allbookswhichaffirmthemotionoftheearth“apapalbullsignedbyhimself，bindingthecontentsoftheIndexupontheconsciencesofthefaithful。
Thisbullconfirmedandapprovedinexpressterms，finally，decisively，andinfallibly，thecondemnationof“allbooksteachingthemovementoftheearthandthestabilityofthesun。”[76]
[76]SeeRev。WilliamW。Roberts，ThePontificalDecreesagainsttheDoctrineoftheEarth’sMovement，London，1885，p。94；andforthetextofthepapalbull，SpeculatoresdomusIsrael，pp。
132，133，seealsoSt。GeorgeMivart’sarticleintheNineteenthCenturyforJuly，1885。Fortheauthenticpublicationofthebull，seeprefacetotheIndexof1664，wherethebullappears，signedbythePope。TheRev。Mr。RobertsandMr。St。GeorgeMivartareRomanCatholicsandbothacknowledgethatthepapalsanctionwasfullygiven。
ThepositionofthemotherChurchhadbeenthusmadeespeciallydifficult；andthefirstimportantmoveinretreatbytheapologistswasthestatementthatGalileowascondemned，notbecauseheaffirmedthemotionoftheearth，butbecausehesupporteditfromScripture。Therewasaslightappearanceoftruthinthis。Undoubtedly，Galileo’sletterstoCastelliandthegrandduchess，inwhichheattemptedtoshowthathisastronomicaldoctrineswerenotopposedtoScripture，gaveanewstirtoreligiousbigotry。Foraconsiderabletime，then，thisquibbleserveditspurpose；evenahundredandfiftyyearsafterGalileo’scondemnationitwasrenewedbytheProtestantMalletduPan，inhiswishtogainfavourfromtheolderChurch。
Butnothingcanbemoreabsurd，inthelightoftheoriginaldocumentsrecentlybroughtoutoftheVaticanarchives，thantomakethiscontentionnow。ThelettersofGalileotoCastelliandtheGrand-Duchesswerenotpublisheduntilafterthecondemnation；and，althoughtheArchbishopofPisahadendeavouredtousethemagainsthim，theywerebutcasuallymentionedin1616，andentirelyleftoutofviewin1633。Whatwascondemnedin1616bytheSacredCongregationheldinthepresenceofPopePaulV，as“ABSURD，FALSEINTHEOLOGY，AND
HERETICAL，BECAUSEABSOLUTELYCONTRARYTOHOLYSCRIPTURE。”wasthepropositionthat“THESUNISTHECENTREABOUTWHICHTHEEARTH
REVOLVES“；andwhatwascondemnedas“ABSURD，FALSEIN
PHILOSOPHY，ANDFROMATHEOLOGICPOINTOFVIEW，ATLEAST，OPPOSED
TOTHETRUEFAITH。”wasthepropositionthat“THEEARTHISNOT
THECENTREOFTHEUNIVERSEANDIMMOVABLE，BUTHASADIURNAL
MOTION。”
Andagain，whatGalileowasmade，byexpressorderofPopeUrban，andbytheactionoftheInquisitionunderthreatoftorture，toabjurein1633，was“THEERRORANDHERESYOFTHEMOVEMENTOFTHE
EARTH。”
WhattheIndexcondemnedundersanctionofthebullissuedbyAlexanderVIIin1664was，“ALLBOOKSTEACHINGTHEMOVEMENTOF
THEEARTHANDTHESTABILITYOFTHESUN。”
WhattheIndex，prefacedbypapalbulls，infalliblybindingitscontentsupontheconsciencesofthefaithful，fornearlytwohundredyearssteadilycondemnedwas，“ALLBOOKSWHICHAFFIRMTHE
MOTIONOFTHEEARTH。”
NotoneofthesecondemnationswasdirectedagainstGalileo“forreconcilinghisideaswithScripture。”[77]
[77]Fortheoriginaltrialdocuments，copiedcarefullyfromtheVaticanmanuscripts，seetheRomanCatholicauthority，L’Epinois，especiallyp。35，wheretheprincipaldocumentisgiveninitsoriginalLatin；seealsoGebler，DieActendesgalilei’schenProcesses，forstillmorecompletecopiesofthesamedocuments。
Forminuteinformationregardingthesedocumentsandtheirpublication，seeFavaro，MiscellaneaGalileanaInedita，formingvol。xxii，partiii，oftheMemoirsoftheVenetianInstitutefor1887，andespeciallypp。891andfollowing。
Havingbeendislodgedfromthispoint，theChurchapologistssoughtcoverunderthestatementthatGalileowascondemnednotforheresy，butforcontumacyandwantofrespecttowardthePope。
Therewasaslightchance，also，forthisquibble：nodoubtUrbanVIII，oneofthehaughtiestofpontiffs，wasinducedbyGalileo’senemiestothinkthathehadbeentreatedwithsomelackofproperetiquette：first，byGalileo’sadhesiontohisowndoctrinesafterhiscondemnationin1616；and，next，byhissupposedreferenceintheDialogueof1632totheargumentswhichthePopehadusedagainsthim。
Butitwouldseemtobeaverypoorservicerenderedtothedoctrineofpapalinfallibilitytoclaimthatadecisionsoimmenseinitsconsequencescouldbeinfluencedbythepersonalresentmentofthereigningpontiff。
Again，astothefirstpoint，theverylanguageofthevarioussentencesshowsthefollyofthisassertion；forthesesentencesspeakalwaysof“heresy“andneverof“contumacy。”Astothelastpoint，thedisplayoftheoriginaldocumentssettledthatforever。TheyshowGalileofromfirsttolastasmostsubmissivetowardthePope，andpatientunderthepapalargumentsandexactions。Hehad，indeed，expressedhisangerattimesagainsthistraducers；buttoholdthisthecauseofthejudgmentagainsthimistodegradethewholeproceedings，andtoconvictPaulV，UrbanVIII，Bellarmin，theothertheologians，andtheInquisition，ofdirectfalsehood，sincetheyassignedentirelydifferentreasonsfortheirconduct。Fromthisposition，therefore，theassailantsretreated。[78]
[78]Theinventionofthe“contumacy“quibbleseemsduetoMonsignorMarini，whoappearsalsotohavemanipulatedtheoriginaldocumentstoproveit。EvenWhewellwasevidentlysomewhatmisledbyhim，butWhewellwrotebeforeL’Epinoishadshownallthedocuments，andunderthesuppositionthatMariniwasanhonestman。
ThenextrallywasmadeaboutthestatementthatthepersecutionofGalileowastheresultofaquarrelbetweenAristotelianprofessorsononesideandprofessorsfavouringtheexperimentalmethodontheother。Butthispositionwasattackedandcarriedbyaverysimplestatement。IfthedivineguidanceoftheChurchissuchthatitcanbedraggedintoaprofessorialsquabble，andmadethetoolofafactioninbringingaboutamostdisastrouscondemnationofaprovedtruth，howdidtheChurchatthattimedifferfromanyhumanorganizationsunkintodecrepitude，managednominallybysimpletons，butreallybyschemers？Ifthatargumentbetrue，theconditionoftheChurchwasevenworsethanitsenemieshavedeclaredit；andamidthejeersofanunfeelingworldtheapologistssoughtnewshelter。
ThenextpointatwhichastandwasmadewastheassertionthatthecondemnationofGalileowas“provisory“；butthisprovedamoretreacherousshelterthantheothers。Thewordingofthedecreeofcondemnationitselfisasufficientanswertothisclaim。Whendoctrineshavebeensolemnlydeclared，asthoseofGalileoweresolemnlydeclaredundersanctionofthehighestauthorityintheChurch，“contrarytothesacredScriptures。”
“opposedtothetruefaith。”and“falseandabsurdintheologyandphilosophy“——tosaythatsuchdeclarationsare“provisory“istosaythatthetruthheldbytheChurchisnotimmutable；fromthis，then，theapologistsretreated。[79]
[79]ThisargumentalsoseemstohavebeenfoistedupontheworldbythewilyMonsignorMarini。
Stillanothercontentionwasmade，insomerespectsmorecuriousthananyother：itwas，mainly，thatGalileo“wasnomoreavictimofCatholicsthanofProtestants；fortheymorethantheCatholictheologiansimpelledthePopetotheactiontaken。”[80]
[80]SeetheRev。A。M。KirschonProfessorHuxleyandEvolution，inTheAmericanCatholicQuarterly，October，1877。Thearticleis，asawhole，remarkablyfair-minded，andinthemain，just，astotheProtestantattitude，andastothecausesunderlyingthewholeactionagainstGalileo。
ButifProtestantismcouldforcethepapalhandinamatterofthismagnitude，involvingvastquestionsofbeliefandfar-reachingquestionsofpolicy，whatbecomesof“inerrancy“——ofspecialprotectionandguidanceofthepapalauthorityinmattersoffaith？
Whilethisretreatfrompositiontopositionwasgoingon，therewasaconstantdischargeofsmall-arms，intheshapeofinnuendoes，hints，andsophistries：everyeffortwasmadetoblackenGalileo’sprivatecharacter：theirregularitiesofhisearlylifeweredraggedforth，andstresswasevenlaiduponbreachesofetiquette；butthissucceededsopoorlythatevenasfarbackas1850itwasthoughtnecessarytocovertheretreatbysomemorecarefulstrategy。
Thisnewstrategyisinstructive。TheoriginaldocumentsoftheGalileotrialhadbeenbroughtduringtheNapoleonicconqueststoParis；butin1846theywerereturnedtoRomebytheFrenchGovernment，ontheexpresspledgebythepapalauthoritiesthattheyshouldbepublished。In1850，aftermanydelaysonvariouspretexts，thelong-expectedpublicationappeared。ThepersonagechargedwithpresentingthemtotheworldwasMonsignorMarini。
ThisecclesiasticwasofakindwhichhastoooftenafflictedboththeChurchandtheworldatlarge。Despitethesolemnpromiseofthepapalcourt，thewilyMarinibecametheinstrumentoftheRomanauthoritiesinevadingthepromise。Bysuppressingadocumenthere，andinterpolatingastatementthere，hemanagedtogiveplausiblestanding-groundfornearlyeveryimportantsophistryeverbroachedtosavetheinfallibilityoftheChurchanddestroythereputationofGalileo。HeitwaswhosupportedtheideathatGalileowas“condemnednotforheresy，butforcontumacy。”