Moral theology of John Paul I

The moral theology of John Paul I has been openly debated and his opinions expressed on Humanae Vitae, artificial insemination and homosexuality have been cited as a significant part of Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories.

Birth control

Contraception

Albino Luciani had mixed feelings regarding the traditional Catholic teaching on contraception as the issue came to prominence in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. In 1968 as Bishop of Veneto Vittorio he submitted a confidential report to his predecessor as Patriarch of Venice arguing that the recently developed contraceptive pill should be permitted by the church. The report was agreed by fellow Veneto bishops and submitted to Paul VI^[1].

After Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae, Luciani did defend it publicly. But in a letter to his diocese on July 29, 1968, shortly after publication of the encyclical, he wrote: “I must confess that I hoped in my heart, even though I didn’t let it out in writing, that the very serious difficulties could be overcome and that the reply of the Teacher, who speaks with a special charism and in the name of the Lord, might coincide with the hopes raised in so many couples, especially after the establishment of a special pontifical commission to examine the issue.” Nevertheless, he added, "I am confident that I have everyone with me in a sincere adherence to the papal teaching."^[2]

Investigative writer David Yallop claims that Luciani referred to several encyclicals and pronouncements from Pope Paul VI, but never referred publicly to Humanae Vitae as pope himself. In May 1978 John Paul I was invited to speak at a conference in Milan to be held that June to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the encyclical. Not only did he refuse to speak, but he also refused to attend^[3]. He supposedly informed his secretary of state Cardinal Jean Villot that, regarding Humanae Vitae, "we cannot leave the situation as it currently stands." ^[4][5]. In another conversation with Cardinal Villot on September 19, 1978, he reportedly told the secretary of state that "We have been discussing birth control for forty-five minutes...during that period of time we have been talking over one thousand children under the age of five have died of malnutrition. God does not always provide." ^[6].

Journalist John L. Allen claims that "it’s virtually certain that John Paul I would not have reversed Paul VI’s teaching, particularly since he was no doctrinal radical. Moreover, as Patriarch in Venice some had seen a hardening of his stance on social issues as the years went by. Nevertheless "...it is reasonable to assume that John Paul I would not have insisted upon the negative judgment in Humanae Vitae as aggressively and publicly as John Paul II did, and probably would not have treated it as a quasi-infallible teaching. It would have remained a more “open” question.^[7][8].

Others take a different view. In the book The Smiling Pope: The Life and Teaching of John Paul I, it is argued that, "Luciani was intransigent with his upholding of the teaching of the Church and severe with those, through intellectual pride and disobedience paid no attention to the Church's prohibition of contraception", though while not condoning the sin, he was tolerant of those who sincerely tried and failed to live up to the Church's teaching. The book also states that "...if some people think that his compassion and gentleness in this respect implies he was against Humane Vitae one can only infer it was wishful thinking on their part and an attempt to find an ally in favor of artificial contraception."^[9][10]

Abortion

In his letter to Carlo Goldoni in Illustrissimi, Luciani took a strongly critical view of abortion, arguing that it violated God's law and went against the deepest aspirations of women, disturbing them profoundly.^[11]

Homosexuality

In a 1974 interview in Venice, Luciani publicly 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."^[12].

According to Lucien Gregoire, in 1941 Luciani wrote a thesis, Strategy of a Strange War (a copy of which is allegedly deposited in the Apostolic Library), in which he discussed human sexuality after observing the sexual behavior of Italian prisoners. He concluded that sexual orientation was essentially unchangeable, and that it was not uncommon for heterosexual male prisoners to engage in same-sex acts, thus illustrating a distinction between sexual behavior and sexual orientation. During his time as Patriarch of Venice he became particularly outspoken on issues of sexuality, and controversially advocated greater tolerance and acceptance in the Church for gay men and women.

Luciani allegedly permitted the adoption of children from orphanages in his diocese by homosexual couples reasoning in a letter to a colleague, "that we have found that homosexuals will take handicapped and less than healthy and attractive children. Most importantly they will take bastards." It was in part due to his lobbying in the Italian Parliament that it became legal for single persons to adopt children in Italy, and he directly accepted that this would include homosexuals ^[13]. In a letter to his mother he bemoaned that "There is something terribly wrong with a society that thinks one's sex is what makes one a good parent".^[14]

Gregoire also claims that before his death Pope Paul VI even permitted Luciani to address the Vatican cardinals on the possibility that the Church might encourage homosexuals to enter into long-term loving relationships. This received a poor reception, but in conclusion he stated that

"The day is not far off when we will have to answer to these people who through the years have been humiliated, whose rights have been ignored, whose human dignity has been offended, their identity denied and their liberty oppressed. What is more we will have to answer to the God who created them".^[15]

Gregoire's account of Luciani's views on gay and lesbian issues has been challenged by other writers, who have argued that the thesis Strategy of a Strange War is nonexistent, and that Luciani's actual thesis for his licentiate in theology (corresponding to Gregoire's "intermediate thesis") was about the custom of judicial ordeals in the Middle Ages.

Clerical abuse

Luciani was allegedly reprimanded by the Vatican for condemning an American bishop for paying off the alleged victim of a predatory priest. He claimed that "It would be better to try our accused fellow servants in a court of law so they can be cleared of any wrongdoing and if found guilty, they should pay their debt to society. It is not Mother Church's business to pay their debt in cash, particularly to pay it with money intended for the poor. Besides, if we take no action to get at the truth, we may very well be endangering countless children in the future." ^[16]

As a bishop, Luciani reportedly conducted research on the problem of clerical pederasty and concluded that it was much more present among parochial clergy than among monastic clergy, given that such clergy were much less likely to be in contact with young adults. He is said to have criticized the role of certain liturgical vestments in attracting people with sexual paraphilias to the priesthood. He also felt that many members of the clergy were of a transgendered orientation, and were not necessarily homosexual.^[17]

Artificial insemination

In an interview shortly before the death of Pope Paul VI, when asked for his reaction to the birth of the first test-tube baby Louise Brown, Luciani, while expressing concerns about the possibility that artificial insemination could lead to women being used as "baby factories," also refused to condemn the parents. He said, "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." He 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."^[18]

According to Gregoire, he also sent his own congratulations to the Brown family, stating:

"I want you to be assured that there is for you and your child a high place in Heaven." ^[19]

References

1. ^ John Julius Norwich, The Popes, London, 2011 p445
2. ^ Albino Luciani/Giovanni Paolo I, Opera Omnia (Padua: Edizioni Messagero, 1989), vol. 3, pp. 300-301.
3. ^ John Julius Norwich, The Popes, London, 2011 p445
4. ^ John Julius Norwich, The Popes, London, 2011 p445
5. ^ In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I by David Yallop, p. 156
6. ^ Ibid, p. 159
7. ^ National Catholic Reporter
8. ^ Kay Withers, "Pope John Paul I and Birth Control," America, March 24, 1979, pp. 233-34
9. ^ Raymond and Lauretta Seabeck, The Smiling Pope, The Life & Teaching of John Paul I. Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2004.
10. ^ Kay Withers, "Pope John Paul I and Birth Control," America, March 24, 1979, pp. 233-34
11. ^ [1]
12. ^ Interview with Il Gazzettino, February 12, 1974, p. 7
13. ^ Parlamento Italiano 35868, January 16, 1959 from Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul, the CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders by Lucien Gregoire, pp. 63-64
14. ^ Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul, the CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders by Lucien Gregoire, p. 65
15. ^ L'Osservatore Romano, March 29, 1978 from Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul, the CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders by Lucien Gregoire, p. 65
16. ^ Messaggero Mestre, March 17, 1978 from Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul, the CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders by Lucien Gregoire
17. ^ Ibid
18. ^ Prospettive nel Mondo, August 1, 1978; Luciani, Opera Omnia, vol. 8, pp. 571-72.
19. ^ Ibid.