Hi everyone,
I think it’s generally acknowledged that the Earth was almost universally believed to be spherical during the Middle Ages, and it’s also true that the Church’s alleged hostility towards science during the Middle Ages has been greatly exaggerated by proponents of the “conflict thesis.” However, it’s fair to say that the Church was, for a long while, leery of the notion that there might be people living on the other side of the Earth (Antipodeans). For more information, see here and here. Let us remember, too, that Nicolaus Copernicus’ magnum opus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was placed on the Index of Prohibited Books, which Catholics were forbidden to even read, until 1835, as were the works of Kepler. The fundamental problem here is that theological reasoning was used by the Church to shut down discussion of scientific hypotheses. Science can never truly flourish in such an intellectual climate, as it requires an atmosphere of free and unrestricted inquiry in order to arrive at the truth. Thank God the Index was finally abolished in 1966.