Haven't seen the anime, but at the time of Copernicus Poland wasn't THAT Catholic. I mean it was Catholic, but it wasn't extermist about that compared to Western Europe.
Polish Kingdom had a long-standing conflict against Teutonic Knights over Prussia (which is where Copernicus lived). Prussian Confederation joined Poland to be defended against Teutonic Knights and Copernicus even participated in defence of Olsztyn castle against them.
Czech hussites (protestants before Luter) participated in wars against Teutonic Knights on the Polish side, and Polish king supported them to some degree against Catholic crusades.
Few decades before Copernicus Poland even sent a delegation to Council of Constance defending the right of pagans no to be invaded in crusades and supporting Lithuanians against Teutonic Knights. The guy making this argument was Paweł Włodkowic who taught in Kraków Academy before Copernicus studied there.
Also - Polish nobility was starting to embrace reformation in 16th century and even forced Polish kings to give them guarantees of religious freedom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Confederation
TL;DR: Poland was pretty tolerant for the time. It became hardcore Catholic after counterreformation.
I made a mistake in the timeline of Orb: On the Movements of the Earth. It begins in an unspecified year of the early 15th century, not the 16th, and thus several decades before Copernicus and his subsequent discoveries. It does, however, stretch across multiple periods of time.
All the same, thank you for the information as it provides significant context for the setting and for what could be a future plot point should the show decide to exploit it.
As I've mentioned in another thread in this comment section, there are a number of fictionalizations in the show that might, for lack of better phrasing, "stand out" to those who are more familiar with the history of the setting and era. But in spite of all that, it has an excellent story and the characters roles are very well performed. It's a real gem from studio Madhouse and I have no reservations in recommending it.
Polish Kingdom had a long-standing conflict against Teutonic Knights over Prussia (which is where Copernicus lived). Prussian Confederation joined Poland to be defended against Teutonic Knights and Copernicus even participated in defence of Olsztyn castle against them.
Czech hussites (protestants before Luter) participated in wars against Teutonic Knights on the Polish side, and Polish king supported them to some degree against Catholic crusades.
Few decades before Copernicus Poland even sent a delegation to Council of Constance defending the right of pagans no to be invaded in crusades and supporting Lithuanians against Teutonic Knights. The guy making this argument was Paweł Włodkowic who taught in Kraków Academy before Copernicus studied there.
Also - Polish nobility was starting to embrace reformation in 16th century and even forced Polish kings to give them guarantees of religious freedom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Confederation
TL;DR: Poland was pretty tolerant for the time. It became hardcore Catholic after counterreformation.