February 26

On this day in 1616, a Roman Catholic Inquisition against Galileo Galilei delivered the following pronouncement about his theory that the earth moves around the sun: that he was required “to abstain completely from teaching or defending this doctrine and opinion or from discussing it... to abandon completely... the opinion that the sun stands still at the center of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatsoever, either orally or in writing.”

Today is the Feast Day of St. Porphyrius of Gaza, who lived from 347-420. The Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City was the site of an Israeli airstrike in October 2023 which killed at least sixteen people who were sheltering in the church. 

Today is also the Feast Day, in the Anglican Church of Canada, of Florence Li Tim-Oi, the first woman priest to be ordained in the Anglican Communion in 1944. She first served a pastoral role during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, when she was given permission to administer the sacraments. 

Reflection: 

The invention of the printing press set off the Enlightenment and the Reformation in Europe. Ideas could be shared much more quickly. Galileo’s heliocentric model was upsetting to the powers that be in the Roman Catholic Church, who were already anxious about their loss of control. 

We’re in another contentious battle for the truth because the internet, like the printing press, has created a rapid spread of information—and of lies. Autocratic leaders and oligarchs like Putin, Trump, Orban, and Musk see this as an opportunity to take us back to a medieval age, when religious, political, and economic self-dealing propped up the patriarchy. They want to use AI and disinformation to control and overwhelm the flow of new knowledge and information, silencing the voices of scientists and social and religious reformers. They want to sideline emerging understanding of gender, sexuality, consciousness, and society. Claiming to be oppressed, canceled, persecuted, and censored, they preemptively attack anyone who doesn’t hold their white supremacist worldview. 

But here’s the thing: Galileo won. Though he was subject to the Inquisition and put under house arrest, the truth could not be stopped. The gag order slapped on him by the Church probably felt like a defeat, but it ultimately led to the discrediting of autocratic forms of religion. The same thing will happen to this present order. The liars will be remembered as fearful, weak men. 

Prayer: Wise and All-Knowing One, we are part of the universe seeking self-understanding. Keep revealing to us new knowledge that will shake the old orders of oppression to their knees. Amen.