Hotline Priest Nods Off During Suicide Call

A troubled Swedish man went from suicidal to steamed when he realized the priest at the other end of his telephoned cry for help had fallen asleep. The man called emergency services because he was feeling "psychologically unstable" and was forwarded to the priest on duty, who dozed off while the man was speaking and proved impossible to awaken, the Telegraph reports.

The man finished the call so angry that he abandoned thoughts of suicide, he told officials. "It's not acceptable for a priest to fall asleep in the middle of a call; this should not happen when you call in search of help," he said. The official responsible for Church of Sweden duty pastors said this has happened before and promised to fire any other priests who fall asleep on suicide hotline duty.
(More Sweden stories.)