In response, Roman Catholicism stee

In response, Roman Catholicism steeled itself for
battle and launched the Counter-Reformation, which
emphasized orthodoxy and fidelity to the true church.
The Counter-Reformation reinvigorated the church and,
to some extent, eliminated its excesses. But the Counter-
Reformation also contributed to the decline of the Italian
Renaissance, a revival of arts and letters that sought
to recover and rework the classical art and philosophy
of ancient Greece and Rome. The popes had once been
great patrons of Renaissance arts and sciences, but the
Counter-Reformation put an end to the church’s liberal
leniency in these areas. Further, the church’s new
emphasis on religious orthodoxy would soon clash with
the emerging scientific revolution. Galileo, with his study
of astronomy, found himself at the center of this clash.