The Trial

  I am Nicolaus Copernicus. I am a Polish Mathematician ,astronomer, physician, scholar, translator, artist, Catholic cleric, jurist, governor, military leader, diplomat and economist. Even though astronomy is not my largest priority, I was disturbed by the failure of Ptolemy's geocentric model of the universe to follow Aristotle's requirement for the uniform circular motion of all celestial bodies. This is why i decided to form a heliocentric model, meaning that the sun, in fact, is the center of the universe. Galileo is also an advocate of the heliocentric model of the universe. Being the perfectionist that I am, I offer him my praise that he defends Copernican ideals in this court today! I only came to my conclusions through mathematical calculation. With technological advances such as that amazing device called the telescope, he was able to in fact observe that this was indeed true. I know that I am right, and I know that Galileo is right as well. Although I am Catholic, the pursuit of understanding and knowledge is far more important. His and my proposal of the heliocentric model do not challenge how the universe was created because I do believe that God is the supreme creator. He is only offering an alternate theory that explains how the lord's universe is constructed and operated.  This is why Galileo should not be harassed by the Catholic church. Galileo is not guilty of hearsay!