NPR

More Religious Leaders Challenge Silence, Isolation Surrounding Suicide

Many faith leaders are looking past suicide as a sin to help spot and support those suffering from mental health issues in their communities.
Source: Nicole Xu for NPR

The Rev. Talitha Arnold was just 2 years old when her father, a World War II veteran, took his own life.

"You just didn't talk about those things back then. We didn't even talk about suicide when I was in the seminary," says Arnold, who leads the United Church of Santa Fe in New Mexico.

Then, when the wife of one of her divinity school professors killed herself and no one muttered a word about it during the service, Arnold says she was appalled. "I was sitting there thinking, 'This was nuts. Why can't you name it?' " That was almost

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