I was quite upset that they bended history so much for that episode. They even tried to present Lucretius's views on infinity as scientific. Correct, but not scientific but mystic.
The big bang theory and a ton of other scientific discoveries have been made by catholic clergyman and laity.
Obviously, burning anyone at the stake is majorly screwed up, but it wasn't to cover up science.
Bruno actually was questioned on terrestrial motion:
Firstly, I say that the theories on the movement of the earth and on the immobility of the firmament or sky are by me produced on a reasoned and sure basis, which doesn’t undermine the authority of the Holy Sciptures […]. With regard to the sun, I say that it doesn’t rise or set, nor do we see it rise or set, because, if the earth rotates on his axis, what do we mean by rising and setting[…].
That was part of his defense recorded during the interrogations shortly before his executions. Sadly, I don't read Italian, so the primary source Il sommario del processo di Giordano Bruno by Angelo Mercati is inaccessible to me.
The big bang theory and a ton of other scientific discoveries have been made by catholic clergyman and laity.
Obviously, burning anyone at the stake is majorly screwed up, but it wasn't to cover up science.