The Vatican reportedly sent a letter to German bishops barring church officials' attempts to change doctrine‚ including the condemnation of homosexuality and the possibility of female clergy members.Fox News Digital reported that Vatican officials have pressed the "German Synodal Way" to abandon radical propositions‚ such as homosexual relationships and female priesthood. The letter was apparently made available to the public on October 23‚ and it rebuked the effort of German bishops to overturn established doctrine. The report noted that letter was translated from German into English by the blog Rotate Caeli‚ which stated: "[I]t must be made clear from the outset that these issues are of varying relevance and cannot all be placed on the same level‚" "Some of them have aspects that cannot be put up for discussion‚ but also aspects that can be subjected to joint in-depth discussion. With regard to others‚ however‚ there is no possibility of arriving at a different assessment..."The letter was reportedly written by Vatican Secretary of State‚ Cardinal Pietro Parolin and subsequently sent to Secretary General Beate Gilles of the German Bishops Conference‚ according to the Catholic News Agency. The German Bishops' Conference has insisted on using its voice in the ongoing Synod of Synodality to rewire various church teachings on a variety of social issues‚ some of which could subvert the unity of the institution. Within the letter‚ Parolin referenced a ruling in 1994 by Pope St. John Paul II‚ which said: "So that all doubt maybe removed concerning this important matter‚ which concerns the divine constitution of the Church itself‚ I declare‚ by virtue of my office of strengthening the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32)‚ that the Church has no authority whatsoever to ordain women to the priesthood‚ and that all the faithful of the Church must definitively abide by this decision."The letter went on to make mention of Pope Francis' 2013 reiteration of John Paul II's initial ruling: "With regard to the ordination of women to the priesthood‚ the Church has spoken‚ and she says: No — St. John Paul II said this‚ but in a definitive way. This door is closed."The letter went on to mention that if German officials decided to ordain women into the priesthood‚ there would be an immediate "excommunication."The Vatican has also refused to acknowledge the possibility of homosexual relationships. "Another issue on which a local Church has no possibility of taking a different view concerns homosexual acts‚" the letter says. "For even if one recognizes that from a subjective point of view there may be various factors that call us not to judge people‚ this in no way changes the evaluation of the objective morality of these acts."The recent development comes as the Catholic Church appears to be declining in Germany‚ with more than 500‚000 people leaving the church‚ according to the DW. The prevalence of sexual abuse scandals are believed to be partly to be blame. The Catholic Church has been riddled with sex abuse scandals for decades‚ many of which were covered up by senior officials within the institution. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Jeff Bezos has come under fire for claiming to be a supporter of climate change while owning a superyacht that produces thousands of tons of carbon emissions each year‚ according to a recent analysis by researchers at Indiana University.The New York Post reported that Bezos' giant 417-foot yacht named "Koru" produces‚ at minimum‚ 7‚154 tons of greenhouse gases on a yearly basis. This amounts to about 447 times the entire annual carbon footprint left behind by the average American. Bezos' actions and what he claims to support do not seem to align‚ with Forbes reporting earlier this year that the Bezos Earth Fund had put $34.5 million toward better reporting on climate and sustainable food. At the time‚ the donation had made the Earth Fund's total amount given to the cause to be $1.66 billion. In 2020‚ Bezos pledged $10 billion over the next ten years to fight the apparent impact of climate change. Since that time‚ Bezos has only accomplished 17% of the initial goal.Indiana anthropology PhD candidate Beatriz Barros‚ who researched Bezos' yacht's emissions with anthropologist Richard Wilk‚ said that billionaires appear to be heavily invested in issues such as climate change and carbon emission‚ but their actions do not align with what they say.“[B]ecause they are so rich and so powerful‚ they feel like they are entitled [to travel in carbon-producing superyachts]‚ whereas you and I should drive less‚ should eat less meat‚” she said. Though experts in the boating industry have praised Koru's "green" capabilities‚ Barros noted that the yacht still produces a massive amount of greenhouse gases just by heating and cooling. She went on to mention that greenhouse gases are also released when the ship powers its luxury amenities‚ such as its theater‚ pool‚ and sauna.“I don’t see how‚ how in any way this can be considered to be environmentally friendly‚” Barros said‚ according to the Guardian.Dario Kenner‚ author of "Carbon Inequality: The Role of the Richest in Climate Change‚" has noted that Bezos has the ability to insulate himself from the negative impact of environmental issues.“There is an emotional and physical disconnect from the rich and climate change‚” Kenner said.“The poorest people live closest to toxic air facilities‚ refineries‚ places where pollution is dumped‚” he continued.“If you’re rich‚ you’re rarely in contact with environmental disaster zones — you’re more insulated from extreme weather‚ from air pollution.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

What had begun as post-'Sgt. Pepper' psychedelia turned toward a darker‚ more idiosyncratic synthesis of jazz‚ blues‚ world music and English folk elements. The post Traffic ‘The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys’: Rock on the Fusion Frontier appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

Ted Cruz Drops Receipts on Lefties Unhappy About What He Spotted in Kamala Harris' Thanksgiving Pic

Platformers have brought us some of gaming's most iconic mascots and some big debates to boot. The classic example is‚ of course‚ Mario vs Sonic — a matchup old as the hills. However‚ today I'd like to discuss a different pair of platforming pals with kindred history‚ that pair being Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. The two both started with a trilogy on PS1‚ had a weird spell for some years after‚ and then came back to the big time with remasters of those trilogies.

WATCH: Greta Thunberg Takes the Mask Off Fully‚ as She Chants to 'Crush Zionism' at Disturbing Rally

It's Back On: Second Hostages-for-Prisoners Swap Between Israel‚ Hamas to Happen After All

If you don't think the double tap gesture is helpful enough to be active all the time‚ you can always turn it off on your Apple Watch. First available for Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2‚ the double tap gesture was released more widely with watchOS 10.1 alongside NameDrop. With double tap gestures‚ users can easily control the Apple Watch Series 9/Ultra 2 using just one hand and without touching the display by tapping the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to quickly perform many of the most common actions on the Watch. Apple says that the faster Neural Engine enables this new double tap gesture‚ which processes data from the accelerometer‚ gyroscope‚ and optical heart sensor with a new machine learning algorithm. Image source: José Adorno for BGR If you haven't found the new Apple Watch feature useful‚ here's how to turn it off: Open the Settings app on your watch. Tap Gestures >; Double Tap‚ then turn off Double Tap. If you have an Apple Watch Series 8 or older‚ you can use a similar feature that works like double tap‚ although it's not built into the system. Here's how to turn it off: Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch or the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Tap Accessibility >; AssistiveTouch >; Hand Gestures. Tap to turn Hand Gestures off. To be fair‚ I think the double tap gesture on the Apple Watch can be beneficial sometimes‚ but it's nowhere near as useful as I hoped. I hope that‚ with time‚ Apple improves this feature. Currently‚ the company is testing watchOS 10.2‚ which brings on-device Siri for Health-related questions while also bringing a beloved gesture back. Below‚ you can learn more about watchOS 10.2. Don't Miss: watchOS 10.2 beta 3 available to developers with privacy improvements The post How to turn off the Apple Watch Double Tap gesture appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Amazon is handing out free money for Black Friday 2023 Amazon gift card deals‚ offers &; coupons 2023: Get $500+ free Best Cyber Weekend sales: Amazon‚ Apple‚ Best Buy‚ Samsung‚ Walmart‚ and much more Trending Right Now: Proton Drive might help me ditch Google‚ and it now has a Mac app This Microsoft 365 Family Amazon trick is one of my favorite Black Friday deals All the can’t-miss Netflix new releases coming over the next seven days

Behold the Great Temple of Abu Simbel‚ a stunning reflection of Ramesses II's architectural brilliance. Carved into the Nubian rock‚ this temple stands as an extraordinary example of ancient Egyptian ingenuity.  Read moreSection: NewsAncient PlacesAfricaVideosRead Later 

President Joe Biden's poll numbers are continuing to slide downward‚ while former President Donald Trump‚ the clear front-runner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination‚ is enjoying poll numbers that are at a higher point than at any time over the past year.