Re: When was Gallileo pardoned by The Church?

The official rehabilitation was undertaken by Pope John Paul II on his 
accession in 1978, and completed in 1992, according to this web page.

The case is actually a little more complex than that; Galileo was also 
promulgating some ideas that were politically embarrassing to the current pope 
(who was, incidentally, a personal friend), and I believe that he had some 
marginally heretical religious ideas, as well as a not-very-agreeable 
personality. All of this contributed to his condemnation as much as his 
astronomy.

I would remind you that Galileo was a devout and obedient Catholic who placed 
both his daughters in a convent (partly because they were born out of wedlock 
and so would be unable to marry well). For a sympathetic, well-researched and 
complete portrait of the controversy, read Dava Sobel's book "Galileo's 
Daughter" which traces the history partly by the letters written to Galileo by 
one of his daughters; the letters from him to his daughters were apparently 
destroyed by the convent because they were political hot potatoes.

                                      Dan Berger
                                      MadSci Administrator