BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW
September 18, 2020
By: Eileen Buckley
“I’m ready to be ordained a priest,” declared Chris Emminger, deacon.
Deacon Emminger of the Town of Tonawanda and Deacon Denning Achidi of Cameroon in Central Africa will be ordained into the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, Saturday.
Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, Apostolic Administrator the Diocese of Buffalo, will preside over the service, conferring the holy orders of the priesthood upon the two deacons at 9:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo.
.
The number of priests in America is on the decline. In fact, one in six Catholic priests now come from other countries.
In the Buffalo Diocese, eight priests were ordained in 2019. Only two will be ordained in Buffalo Saturday.
*
I asked Emminger, with all the adversity against the catholic church from the sex abuse scandal — why he would still want to be a priest?
“During my seven years of formation I kept having to answer that question — why do I want to be a priest? — Essentially the answer has always stayed the same — because I love the church. I’ve had wonderful priest in my life,” answered Emminger. “Why do I want to be a priest? I think our culture and our society needs to know the love of God in their life and I hope to be that vehicle for them.”
Emminger says he will try to overcome the troubles in the Catholic Church by working to help build relationships and listening to others.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.