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An American religious sister ministering in Burkina Faso who was kidnapped in April is free and safe after nearly five months of captivity, according to her congregation and the local diocese. Suellen Tennyson, 83, a New Orleans native, has served at a missionary outpost in northern Burkina Faso since 2014. She was abducted by unidentified armed men on April 5 from the small home she shared with two other members of her congregation, the Marianites of Holy Cross. Reportedly abducted without shoes, she also left behind her glasses and blood pressure medication. Sister Ann Lacour, the current Marianite congregational leader, confirmed August 30 that Tennyson is now safe and in the hands of US authorities. The FBI had issued a missing person notice for the sister, but until this week there had been no news of her location or condition. Tennyson is a former international leader of her congregation who was moved to start a missionary outpost in Burkina Faso after a 2011 visit to the country. Her congregation requested continued prayers for Tennyson’s recovery, as well as privacy until she is ready to speak publicly about her ordeal.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252176/abducted-american-religious-sister-freed-in-burkina-faso
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday upholding the dismissal of a Catholic school teacher who had contracted a same-sex marriage. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis commented that the court had “unanimously protected the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ right to ensure students and families receive an authentic Catholic education.” The lawsuit against the archdiocese was filed by Joshua Payne-Elliott, a former teacher at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. In 2017, Payne-Elliott entered a same-sex marriage with another Catholic school teacher in the archdiocese, Layton Payne-Elliott. Archdiocesan policy states that Catholic schools must clearly state in their contracts and job descriptions that teachers must uphold and support the teachings of the Church in their lives.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252178/indiana-supreme-court-backs-archdiocese-in-religious-freedom-case
Former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev’s death on Tuesday revived shaky rumors that the last head of the communist and officially atheist Soviet Union was a Christian convert. While Gorbachev had been more friendly to religion than most of his predecessors, in March 2008 Gorbachev had to dispel claims he had become a Christian, saying that he has been and remains an atheist. Gorbachev and his wife Raisa had been baptized Christians in the Russian Orthodox Church, the two said in 1989, but they depicted this as part of normal family custom at the time of their births. They did not baptize their daughter.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252180/mikhail-gorbachev-s-death-revives-unfounded-rumors-of-christian-conversion
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses, a 15th century Portuguese noblewoman who founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-beatrice-da-silva-meneses-581