The New York Times reported on September 9, 1967, a few months after the publication of the mighty encyclical in defense of priestly celibacy, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus:
One hundred fifty Roman Catholic priests today called upon American delegates to the forthcoming Synod of Bishops in Rome to place on the synod agenda the question of whether priests may marry.
On February 21, 2008, months after the strong defense of priestly celibacy by Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis, several news agencies report:
Brazilian priests have spoken directly to Pope Benedict XVI to ask him for a revision of the canonical law obliging celibacy for those carrying out priestly functions. The decision appeared in the final document of the 12th National Meeting of Priests, which ended on Tuesday in the Itaici monastery in the Indaiatuba municipality (in the state of Sao Paulo). Therequest will be sent to the Holy Congregation for the Clergy under the direction of Claudio Hummes, former archbishop of Sao Paulo ... .
...
As reported by the Spanish daily El Pais, quoting a bishop who did not want his identity revealed, married laymen have long been ordained in Brazil. "Rome is aware of the fact, but does not want it to be made public." Brazilian priests have also asked for the appointing of priests to be made more democratic, and for those who have divorced to have a right to the sacraments as well.
Like the liturgical reform, whose aesthetics are stuck in the most problematic decade of the 20th century, the spirit of clerical rebellion - also a fruit of the "Spirit of the Council" - keeps bringing forth the same old arguments and demands.
