Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (June 24, 1967) by Pope Paul VI is the key document that restated and defended the discipline of priestly celibacy in the Latin Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council.
Author: Pope Paul VI Date: June 24, 1967 sacerdotalis caelibatus pope author date
Issued six years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (Latin for "On Priestly Celibacy") is an encyclical written in response to growing debates within the Catholic Church about the discipline of mandatory clerical celibacy in the Latin Rite. While the Council (1962–1965) reaffirmed celibacy in its decree Presbyterorum Ordinis , Pope Paul VI dedicated this entire encyclical to thoroughly explaining and defending the tradition. Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (June 24, 1967) by Pope Paul