It is a familiar charge, launched by so many Whig historians, and repeated by those who have no sense of historiography.
The Catholic Church is against science! The Pope wants to return us to the dark ages!
Part of the burden we American Catholics labor under is that the English language, in which our history is written, is a language that was historically dominated by some of the most anti-Catholic writers on Earth. This means that the people who teach us were taught by people who were taught by people who were taught by people who were intensely biased against the Church. This means that myths get propagated, and repeated, and strengthened by each generation. The Inquisition burned 5 million women! The Crusades killed millions of innocent people! It's all an evil plot to return us to Popery and feudalism! Guy Fawkes! Bonnie Prince Charlie! The Jesuits!
You can practically hear the Elizabethan accents underlying the arguments.
The truth about Galileo's trial is a mite more complicated than people have the patience to hear.