John Yanta

John Walter Yanta (October 2, 1931 – August 6, 2022) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Amarillo in Texas from 1997 to 2008 and as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas from 1994 to 1997.

Biography

Early years On March 17, 1956, Yanta was ordained into the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Antonio at the Cathedral of San Fernando in San Antonio by Archbishop Robert Lucey. In 1957, Yanta was assigned as assistant pastor at St. Ann's Parish in San Antonio.

During this period, Yanta would frequently join protests in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic in San Antonio, protesting its abortion services to women. He was arrested during one protest for disturbing the peace.

By September 2002, eight priests had resigned from the diocese due to sexual abuse allegations. In February 2003, Yanta agreed to a US$27,000 legal settlement with the family of the girl raped by Herrera in 2000.

Retirement and death Yanta retired as bishop of Amarillo on January 3, 2008. After his retirement, Yanta moved to San Antonio where he was active in socially conservative political causes. In 2011, Yanta established the Polish Heritage Center Foundation and bought land in Panna Maria to build the Polish Heritage Center, a museum about Polish immigrants to Texas. In 2021, Yanta spent a week in the hospital due to a case of pneumonia.

John Yanta died in San Antonio on August 6, 2022, at age 90.

Viewpoints

Politics On May 14, 2009, Yanta sent a letter of protest to Reverend John I. Jenkins, the president of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, about the university inviting US President Barack Obama to its commencement ceremony. In the letter, Yanta stated:I also see Notre Dame crucifying Our Lord once again. Our Blessed Mother must be sorrowful for what you are doing to her Son, using her name in doing so.

Sexual abuse scandal In 2002, Yanta criticized the "zero tolerance" policies on sexual abuse by priests that were adopted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002. He argued that one-time offenders who had gone through counseling should not be punished for their crimes. However, Yanta admitted that his predecessor, Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen, had recruited many of the problem priests out of treatment programs and kept that information secret from parishioners.