Today is the day (in 1633) that Galileo stood trial before the Roman Inquisition to defend the publication of his book about the Copernican view of the universe.
This revolutionary idea (that the Earth and other celestial objects revolved around the sun) was at odds with the understanding - legitimized by the church - that Earth was the center.
The pope condemned Galileo to imprisonment, banned his book from publication, and forbid him to speak or write on the mobility of the Earth or stability of the Sun. It wasn't until 1822 that the church's ban on Galileo's book was lifted. And it wasn't until 1992 that the church expressed regret and acknowledged it's errors concerning Galileo. (Funny how a guy who is supposedly infallible could actually be wrong.)
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