"if tomorrow 5000 priests announced they were basically celibate gay men, wouldn't that be a blow for overall cultural acceptance of same sex attraction, and well as an act of courage that the world would recognize and applaud?"

Indeed it would. It would also be nice if we all woke up tomorrow and everyone had handed in all their assault weapons and sensibly restrictive gun laws magically appeared on the books. It would also be nice if I won the lottery. Sadly, real life doesn't work that way. These things take time. One step forward, two steps back.