Early in his career as an auxiliary bishop, he criticized American "pansexuality and materialism" in a 1971 interview, noting that as a result, the supernatural explanation of celibacy falls on deaf ears in many parts of Western society.

"[3] As leader of the new Archdiocese, Quinn "fought against the death penalty, championed land reform and complained about extremism in the right-to-life movement.

[5] Quinn's appointment by Pope Paul VI in 1977 was received with local praise; for almost his entire episcopate in San Francisco the archbishop enjoyed the support of priests and the lay faithful.

"[4] Quinn recognized that the Archdiocese was too large for effective pastoral governance and helped devise plans for the creation of the Diocese of San Jose, which was erected by Pope John Paul II on January 27, 1981.

[8] Quinn regularly visited this parish, especially during the annual 40 Hours Vigil held throughout the 1980s in support of those who were HIV-positive and their caregivers.

Quinn sold the former archiepiscopal residence and in the summer of 1992 moved into the cathedral rectory, where he lived with fellow clergy until his retirement.

Quinn was an irenic and liberal presence in San Francisco who, in the 1970s and 1980s, offered leadership to Catholics in the United States on issues as diverse as women religious, nuclear weapons, sanctuary for Central American refugees, and working to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

After the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero in March 1980, Quinn issued a statement lauding the murdered prelate as "a voice for the poor and the oppressed."

After his retirement as archbishop, he spent time at Campion Hall, Oxford, giving a talk in 1996 on "The Claims of the Primacy and the Costly Call to Unity".