5. The church did deny heliocentrism and did imprison Galileo for his belief in it. 7 Scientists Who Died Violently Galileo was condemned because he ventured into Scriptural exegesis—in, e.g., his 1615 Letter to the Grand Duchess Madame Christina Lorraine —contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers of the Church and the Council of Trent. At least 31 people have been killed during a stampede at a church in the southern Rivers state of Nigeria, a police spokesperson has said. Bacon was a devout Anglican, who wrote that the goals for his science were to discover truth and serve his country and the Church. Gregor Mendel who is the Father of Genetic Engineering, Nicolaus Copernicus who is a Catholic priest who dedicated his work to Pope Clement VII, Fr. Parishioners stop gunman in deadly California church attack At the age of 20, probably as a result of a romantic affair gone wrong, he fought a duel in Paris. 9 Groundbreaking Scientists Who Happened to Be Christians Many today don't believe that the Roman Catholic church actually persecuted and killed other Christians and yet the record is clear it did. One witness said the dead included a pregnant woman and many children. MONDINO DE LUZZI (1270-1326) Church of Saints Vitale and Agricola, Bologna, Italy Medicine & Anatomy The Church's media guide claims that "Christian Science healing has been verified by medical diagnosis," and that of the more than 10,000 healings published from 1969 to 1988 in Church periodicals . The astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei was famously convicted of heresy by the Roman Catholic Church for supporting the theory that the planets revolved around the sun. Following are seven scientists who challenged the Christian theology, and where pilgrims can go to pay their respects. LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images. After the . The Ten Most Disturbing Scientific Discoveries | Science| Smithsonian ... The 16th-century Italian philosopher (and former Catholic priest) Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for a stubborn adherence to his then unorthodox beliefs — including the ideas that the universe is infinite and that other solar systems exist. Children among 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria Giordano Bruno | Biography, Death, & Facts | Britannica A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy.