Lewis explained that what Bellarmine did, then called controversial theology, would now probably be called "dogmatic theology." Though it probably was not seen as a dialogue in Bellarmine's own time, Lewis argued, it was: "He was developing responses to the Protestant theology of the time."
Before being made cardinal, Bellarmine was a scholar and teacher, as well as rector of the Roman College. One of his students was St. Aloysius Gonzaga, next to whom, in the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome, Bellarmine asked to be buried.
Another friend of Bellarmine was the storied astronomer Galileo Galilei. But Bellarmine "was the kind of man who could be a friend and not necessarily agree with you," Pacwa stated.
Galileo had put forward his unproven theory of heliocentricity, which the Church saw as contradicting scripture, Pacwa explained. Bellarmine gave Galileo a warning, because Galileo was asserting the theory as absolute truth without citing specific scientific proof to support the claim.
According to Pacwa, "this warning was given to Galileo, not as condemnation, and Galileo accepted it. Later there were rumors that Galileo had been forced to recant. And both Bellarmine and Galileo wrote that that wasn't true, just that he had to be quiet about claiming that."
When Galileo was later condemned, it was after Bellarmine's death.
St. Robert Bellarmine was "indefatigable in his labor," Pacwa asserted. "And he worked until he died," on Sept. 17, 1621. Bellarmine was canonized by Pius XI in 1930.
"Knowing a lot does not make one a saint. Not everybody has the intellectual capacity that Robert Bellarmine did. But the way he used his magnificent intellectual capacity is what made him a saint," Pacwa claims. "He committed his intellect to the service of God and the Church."
EWTN's Alexey Gotovsky contributed to this story
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.