Aristotle's errors were codified into doctrine. In particular, it was taught that constant motion required constant force. Galileo went to great lengths to explode this doctrine, and I don't think it can be supported that the scholastics knew it was false all along.
I also don't think that Thomas Aquinas made any kind of appeal to independent thinking among the common folk such as Galileo did in the quote I cited. Insofar as Aquinas spoke of the "validity of reason" it was to the purpose of reconciling any reasoning that might done to Church doctrine. He wasn't exactly turning reason loose in the streets. Bruno was burnt at the stake!
Science is a discipline of knowledge that takes generation's to build up. Newtonian physics is based upon Galilean relativity that says space and time are constant but the speed of light is relative. But we know that to be false. In Einsteinian relativity space and time are relative but the speed of light is constant. Since Galileo got it wrong, should be dismiss him as a superstitious crank? Or should be instead honor him as one of the great historical figures of science even though he was quite mistaken about some things?