John Yanta Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:The Most Reverend
John Walter Yanta
Bishop of Amarillo
Diocese:Amarillo
Church:Catholic Church
Appointed:January 21, 1997
Enthroned:March 17, 1997
Ended:January 3, 2008
Predecessor:Leroy Matthiesen
Successor:Patrick Zurek
Ordination:March 17, 1956
Ordained By:Robert Emmet Lucey
Consecration:December 30, 1994
Consecrated By:Patrick Flores, Alfons Nossol, and Charles Victor Grahmann
Birth Date:2 October 1931
Birth Place:Runge, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
John Walter Yanta
Dipstyle:

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 by Archbishop Robert Lucey.[1] In 1957, Yanta was assigned as assistant pastor at St. Ann’s Parish in San Antonio.[2]

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.[2] In 1981, Yanta and Father Larry Steubben founded Catholic Television of San Antonio (CTSA).[2]

Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio

On December 30, 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed Yanta as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio. He was consecrated by Archbishop Patrick Flores at the Immaculate Conception Church in Panna Maria, Texas.[1]

Bishop of Amarillo

On January 21, 1997, Pope John Paul II named Yanta as the bishop of the Diocese of Amarillo. He was installed on March 17, 1997.[1]

On July 10, 2002, Yanta and the Diocese of Amarillo were named in a lawsuit for the rape of a teenage girl in 2000 by Rosendo Herrera, a diocese priest. When the plaintiff was aged 17, Herrera raped and impregnated her. The suit claimed that the diocese was aware of previous offenses by Herrera, and had failed to notify authorities as required by state law.[3]

By September 2002, eight priests had resigned from the diocese due to sexual abuse allegations.[4] On February 28, 2003, Yanta agreed to a US$27,000 legal settlement with the family of the girl raped by Herrera in 2000.[5]

Retirement

Yanta retired on January 3, 2008.[6] Upon his retirement from the Diocese of Amarillo, 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.[7] In 2021, Yanta spent a week in the hospital due to a case of pneumonia.[8]

John Yanta died in San Antonio on August 6, 2022, at age 90.[9]

Viewpoints

Politics

On May 14, 2009, Yanta sent a letter of protest to Father John I. Jenkins, the president of the University of Notre Dame about the university inviting President Barack Obama to its commencement ceremony.[10] [11] [12] [13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bishop John Walter Yanta [Catholic-Hierarchy]]. November 18, 2021. www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  2. Web site: Inspiring us with his faith, vision, leadership, and attention to detail for 65 years of ministry Archdiocese of San Antonio. November 18, 2021. www.archsa.org. March 25, 2021 .
  3. Web site: July 11, 2002. Suit claims priest fathered child, diocese covered up abuse. November 18, 2021. Plainview Herald. en-US.
  4. News: Blaney. Betsy. September 2, 2002. Amarillo Diocese Hit Hard by Sex Abuse. en-US. Washington Post. November 18, 2021. 0190-8286.
  5. "Diocese settles paternity lawsuit filed by teen girl" Houston Chronicle, February 28, 2003
  6. Web site: Home . catholic-hierarchy.org.
  7. Web site: Our History. November 18, 2021. en-US. November 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211118220211/https://polishheritagecentertx.org/ourhistory/. dead.
  8. Web site: The West Texas Catholic Interview: Bishop John W. Yanta. November 19, 2021. Catholic Diocese of Amarillo. en.
  9. Web site: Watkins . Matthew . 2022-08-06 . Former Amarillo Bishop John Yanta dies at 90 . 2022-08-18 . KVII . en.
  10. http://www.hli.org/index.php/news/von-galen-awards/726?task=vi
  11. Web site: Bishop John Yanta, pro- life champion, retires - Catholic Online . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080525215136/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=26339 . May 25, 2008 . February 21, 2013.
  12. Web site: Priests for Life Library: Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities .
  13. Web site: Priests for Life Library: Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities .
  14. Yardley, Jim. "Zero tolerance takes big toll in Texas diocese." New York Times, August 24, 2002
  15. News: Yardley . Jim . August 24, 2002 . Zero Tolerance Takes Big Toll in a Texas Diocese . en-US . The New York Times . November 18, 2021 . 0362-4331.