(Newser) – An Illinois priest made a very awkward 911 call back in November that's just now coming to light: Father Tom Donovan told the dispatcher he needed help getting out of a pair of handcuffs he had been "playing with." "I'm going to need help before this becomes a medical emergency," he says in a garbled voice in the recording obtained by the Illinois Times. When police arrived at the church, where Donovan was alone in the rectory, they found the priest was also gagged.

Not surprisingly, the diocese doesn't have much to say on the matter, but it did acknowledge that Donovan was granted a leave of absence sometime before Christmas. He approached Bishop Thomas Paprocki before the incident became news. "He came to the bishop and asked for help and was granted leave," a spokesperson says. (Read more priest stories.)

