Editing Pope John Paul I (section)

===Moral theology===

{{Main|Moral theology of John Paul I}}

British researcher Paul Spackman described Luciani as a man of "doctrinal rigour leavened by pastoral and social open-mindedness," who left behind a "legacy of gentle and compassionate bridge-building."<ref name=ncr2012/>

====Contraception====

Luciani had mixed feelings regarding the traditional stance on contraception. In 1968, as Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, he submitted a report to his predecessor as the Patriarch of Venice, [[Giovanni Urbani]], that argued that the contraceptive pill should be permitted. It was agreed on by fellow Veneto bishops and was later submitted to Pope Paul VI.<ref name="John Julius Norwich 2011, p. 445">John Julius Norwich, ''The Popes'', London, 2011, p. 445.</ref> When ''[[Humanae vitae]]'' was released, re-affirming the teaching of the Church against artificial contraception, Luciani defended that document. Nevertheless, he seemed to contradict that defence in a letter he wrote to his diocese four days after the encyclical's release.<ref>Albino Luciani/Giovanni Paolo I, ''Opera Omnia'' (Padua: Edizioni Messagero, 1989), vol. 3, pp. 300–301.</ref> In May 1978, Luciani was invited to speak at a Milanese conference to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the encyclical. He refused to speak at the event or even attend it.<ref name="John Julius Norwich 2011, p. 445"/>

Raymond and Lauretta take a different view, saying that while serving as Patriarch of Venice, "Luciani was intransigent with his upholding of the teaching of the Church and severe with those, who through intellectual pride and disobedience paid no attention to the Church's prohibition of contraception, though while not condoning the sin, he was patient with those who sincerely tried and failed to live up to the Church's teaching."<ref name="autogenerated2004" />

====Abortion====

In his letter to Carlo Goldoni from the book ''[[Illustrissimi]]'', Luciani took a critical perspective of abortion and argued that it violated God's law and that it went against the deepest aspirations of women, profoundly disturbing them.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yex2o7Ta48UC|title=Illustrissimi: The Letters of Pope John Paul I|translator-first=Isabel |translator-last=Quigly |publisher=Gracewing Publishing|year=2001|page=269|isbn=9780852445495}}</ref>

====Artificial insemination====

In an interview before the death of [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1978, when asked for his reaction to the birth of the first test-tube baby [[Louise Brown]], Luciani expressed concerns about the possibility that [[artificial insemination]] could lead to women being used as "baby factories", but he refused to condemn the parents,<ref>''Prospettive nel Mondo'', 1 August 1978; Albino Luciani, ''Opera Omnia'', vol. 8, pp. 571-72</ref> noting that they simply wanted to have a baby.<ref>Adam Eley, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33599353 "How has IVF developed since the first 'test-tube baby'?"], [[BBC News]], 23 July 2015, accessed 24 March 2023</ref>

His view was that "from every side the press is sending its congratulations to the English couple and best wishes to their baby girl. In imitation of God, who desires and loves human life, I too offer my best wishes to the baby girl. As for her parents, I do not have any right to condemn them; subjectively, if they have acted with the right intention and in good faith, they may even obtain great merit before God for what they have decided on and asked the doctors to carry out." Luciani added, "Getting down, however, to the act in itself, and good faith aside, the moral problem which is posed is: is extrauterine fertilization in vitro or in a test tube, licit?... I do not find any valid reasons to deviate from this norm, by declaring licit the separation of the transmission of life from the marriage act."<ref>''Prospettive nel Mondo'', 1 August 1978; Luciani, ''Opera Omnia'', vol. 8, pp. 571–72.</ref>

====Divorce====

In 1969, Luciani was cautious of de facto relationships as a lesser evil to divorce. He said that unions like those should not be the same as marriage. However, he added that "there are, in undeniably pathological family situations, painful cases. To remedy that, some propose a divorce, which, conversely, would aggravate this. But some remedy outside of divorce, you can't really find? Once the legitimate family is protected and made a place of honour, you will not be able to recognise with all appropriate precautions some civil effect to de facto unions."<ref name="Vatican Insider">{{cite web|url=http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?ref=SERP&br=ro&mkt=en-AU&dl=en&lp=IT_EN&a=http%3a%2f%2fvaticaninsider.lastampa.it%2fhomepage%2fvaticano%2fdettaglio-articolo%2farticolo%2fluciani-papa-14496%2f|title=Luciani, the meek Pope (in Italian)|publisher=Vatican Insider|date=20 April 2012|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref>

====Homosexuality====

In a 1974 interview, while he was the Patriarch of Venice, Luciani upheld the traditional line: "A sexuality that is worthy of man must be a part of love for a person of a different sex with the added commitments of fidelity and indissolubility."<ref>Interview with ''Il Gazzettino'', 12 February 1974, p. 7</ref>

====Ordination of women====

In a 1975 talk Luciani gave to a group of sisters, he expressed his views on the ordination of women into the priesthood:

{{blockquote|You will ask: what about ... the priesthood itself? I can say to you: Christ bestowed the pastoral ministry on men alone, on his apostles. Did he mean this to be valid only for a short time, almost as though he made allowances for the prejudice about the inferiority of women prevalent in his time? Or did he intend it to be valid always? Let it be very clear: Christ never accepted the prejudice about the inferiority of women: they are always admirable figures in the Gospels, more so than the apostles themselves. The priesthood, however, is a service given by means of spiritual powers and not a form of superiority. Through the will of Christ, women — in my judgement — carry out a different, complementary, and precious service in the church, but they are not "possible priests" ... That does not do wrong to women.<ref name=ncr2012/>}}