His Excellency Bishop John Yanta (born October 2, 1931, in Runge, Texas), is a former Roman Catholic bishop who served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo in Amarillo, Texas.
He was ordained for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Antonio on March 17, 1956 and was then consecrated bishop on December 30, 1994, serving as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
On January 21, 1997, he was named bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo, and became the bishop of that diocese on March 17, 1997. He retired on January 3, 2008.[1] Upon his retirement from the Diocese of Amarillo, Bishop Yanta moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he remains active in socially conservative political causes.
When a 17-year-old girl in the Amarillo diocese came forward claiming to have been impregnated by a priest in 2003, Bishop Yanta agreed to a $27,000 legal settlement to avoid a lawsuit.[2] Bishop Yanta was also critical of "zero tolerance" policies when it came to priests accused of sexual abuse. He argued that one-time offenders who had gone through counseling should not be punished for their actions.[3]