After two priests had been investigated by the RCMP, and had vanished from our Diocese without explanation, his Excellency issued a special order. All volunteer lay ministers in the Diocese were told that they needed to produce a criminal record check. What ? We complained, but we filed up to the local RCMP detachment to prove that we were law -abiding citizens. I went too; I was the music minister.
In six weeks, the results were in. We were all innocent ! There was not a criminal amongst us !
The trauma of the disappearing priests, and then having to prove my own innocence was too much for me. I tried to continue my music ministry, but when I opened my mouth to sing, only a faint, croaky sound emerged. My public music ministry had ended.