The Queen and the Gays

Queen Elizabeth has caused a bit of a tiff across the pond for writing "supportive" letters to heads of a religious group accused of being anti-gay.

The group—the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans—is a new alliance of Catholic and evangelical parishes in the U.K. and Ireland, and this weekend one of its leaders, Church of England Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, created a stir when he urged gays to "repent." Nazir-Ali also called homosexuality a trend and implored church leaders to stick to "traditional teaching."

The Queen reportedly told the traditionalist leaders she "understood their concerns" about a more liberalized Anglican Communion, which saw its first openly gay bishop ordained in 2003.