I actually have some sources from my yesterday's discussion handy:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/lq6/the_galileo_affair_who_was_on_th...
http://lesswrong.com/lw/lq6/the_galileo_affair_who_was_on_th...
They paint a completely different picture of Galileo than the one taught in schools. TL;DR: Galileo was onto the right idea, but for totally wrong reasons. His model was worse than existing ones and unsupported by available empirical data - therefore it was justly rejected by contemporary scientific community. And the issue with Church was apparently about Galileo being a dick to the Pope.