Not the person you replied to, but there's some evidence that Galileo's persecution was due to a personal spat between him and Pope Urban, and the latter's insecurities, rather than philosophical differences.

See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair#Historians_and_...

Also, reflecting on your other example (Damore) there are plenty of situations where it's possible to disagree and be offended.