A quibble: Galileo wasn't punished for proving the earth revolved around the sun. He was punished for insisting that the Church couldn't moderate what the people were taught about whether or not the earth revolved around the sun. Galileo was a hell of a scientist but what set him apart was not his discoveries but his rebellion against Rome. Galileo, then, worshipped truth while the Papacy worshipped power and control. Granted, in their place I would have done exactly what the Papacy did. I just get tired of Galileo being held up as the only smart guy in medieval Europe rather than the only scientist willing to tell the Pope to get bent.
But beyond even that he published what was seen as a public mocking of the pope in Italian, thus bringing his gripe to the public square, the common man. Telling the pope to get bent is a sin. Telling the pope to get bent in front of the world is a mortal sin.
