Vatican Says It's OK to Discuss Priestly Celibacy

NPR:

The Vatican's new secretary of state made some comments in an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper earlier this week that have surprised many.
Archbishop Pietro Parolin, whom Pope Francis appointed on Aug. 31, said the issue of priest celibacy is open to discussion.
"It is not a church dogma and it can be discussed because it is a church tradition," , adding that changing a tradition does take a lot of thought.
"We cannot simply say that it is part of the past," he said. "It is a great challenge for the pope, because he is the one with the ministry of unity and all of those decisions must be made thinking about the unity of the church and not about its division. Therefore we can talk, reflect on these subjects that are not definite, and we can think about some modifications, but always with the consideration of unity, and all according to the will of God. It is not about what I would like but what God wants for His church."

Even though nothing will probably come of that, it sounds more moderate than the last couple popes have been.  Even a basic statement like that has to get the conservative side of the hierarchy a bit flustered.