of Strathclyde Police asking for the Force to give clarity regarding the criteria for using breach of the peace charges in relation to comments which might be seen to incite hatred on grounds of sexual orientation. In October 2010, he sent a public letter to all Scottish parishes urging Catholic parishioners to oppose Government plans to give gay couples the right to marry. He warned that the move would create "larger divisions" in society. This prompted the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie to suggest that the Catholic Church was trying to control opinion. Lockerbie bomber In 2009, Conti was vocal in supporting the release by the Scottish government of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who had been imprisoned for his part in the Lockerbie bombing. Conti argued that, "I personally, and many others in the Catholic community, admired the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on grounds of compassion which is, after all, one of the principles inscribed on the mace of the Scottish Parliament by which Scotland's government should operate." Sexual health In 2004, Conti criticised Scottish Executive proposals to tackle sexual health problems among young people. He argued that the draft strategy placed too much emphasis on medical treatment and not enough on spiritual or social worries. Concern over homosexuality being perceived as equal to heterosexual relationships and the absence of references to marriage in the report were also highlighted by the archbishop. Summorum Pontificum In 2007 he issued directives on the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in his diocese. This clarified arrangements for priests who wished to freely celebrate in Glasgow the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal (the Tridentine Mass). Father John Zuhlsdorf said they were directly disobedient to Benedict XVI's motu proprio, which allowed complete freedom for celebrating this form of Mass without a congregation but demanded certain conditions for its celebration with a congregation. Support for asylum seekers In 2012 he launched an outspoken defence of asylum seekers facing destitution. The Archbishop wrote an article urging action to defend the asylum seekers at risk (Sunday Herald 10 June 2012) and backed a public demonstration to protest at the asylum seekers' eviction: "It seems utterly inconceivable that a country with such strong traditions of welfare provision, fairness and social cohesion could allow innocent persons to be evicted, banned from working, left without food and shelter, and effectively eliminated from society. But that is