Question

What role did the catholic church play in the development of the heliocentric theory promoted by copernicus and galileo?

Answer 1

Copernicus's heliocentric theory predates Galileo's, though the model proposed by Copernicus posited circular planetary orbits. Galileo was the first astronomer to suggest elliptical planetary orbits. Hope this answers the question. Have a nice day.

Answer 2

I believe the answer is: The church rejected the theory and tried to punish scientists for promoting it.

Heliocentric refers to a view which believe that sun is the centre of the universe and the planets revolve around it.
The church see this as a violation of christian teaching which view the earth as the centre of the universe. So they threw all the scientists that promote heliocentric view to jail