Galileo Heretic

Pietro Redondi boldly reinterprets Galileo's famous trial for heresy in 1633, when the Inquisition forced him to abjure all writings that described the sun as the central body of the universe, with the earth and other planets revolving around it. Dr. Redondi has discovered a new document, predating the trial, in the Archives of the Vatican Holy Office: an anonymous and rigorous denunciation of Galileo on the grounds that his new naturalistic philosophy and his advocacy of atomism threatened the all-important dogma of the Eucharist. Galileo: Heretic draws on this new evidence to argue that the Jesuits had plotted Galileo's downfall for reasons other than his beliefs about astronomy. Through a convincing re-creation of the theologically charged atmosphere of the period, the work suggests that Copernicanism, was, in effect, a red herring, and that the trial was a cover-up for the much more serious accusation of heresy concerning the Eucharist. In short, Galileo may have narrowly escaped being burned at the stake. - Jacket flap.