James Vann Johnston Jr. (born October 16, 1959) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri since 2015. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri from 2008 to 2015.

Biography

Early life and education

Johnston was born on October 16, 1959, in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, to James Johnston and Pat (née Huber) Vann Johnston. He has two sisters, Beth and Amy, and one brother, Steve. James Johnston Jr. was a member of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, attaining the rank of

eagle scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. He attended St. Joseph Elementary School and Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville. After graduating from high school in 1977, Johnston entered the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

in Knoxville. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1982. Johnston worked for three years after college for an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

ing consulting firm in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. Johnston has stated that the faith and generosity of his mother and the teachings of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

inspired him to enter the priesthood. He enrolled in

Saint Meinrad School of Theology The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is a Roman Catholic seminary and school of theology in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. It is affiliated with the Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana. The institution was named after Meinra ...

in Saint Meinrad, Indiana in 1985, where he earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1990.

Priesthood

Johnston was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest for the

Diocese of Knoxville The Diocese of Knoxville () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Tennessee in the United States. It was founded on May 27, 1988, from the eastern counties of what was then the Diocese of Nash ...

by Bishop

Anthony O'Connell Anthony J. O'Connell (May 10, 1938 – May 4, 2012) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic church. He served as the first of the Diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee from 1988 to 1998. He later served as the third bishop of the Dio ...

on June 9, 1990, at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville. In 1994, Johnston traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

(CUA). He graduated from the

School of Canon Law The Catholic University of America School of Canon Law is the only faculty of Catholic canon law in the United States. It is one of the twelve schools at Catholic University of America, located in Washington, D.C.,Licentiate of

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. He then served as an

associate pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

at St. Mary's Parish in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...

and at St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga,Tennessee, where he also taught at Notre Dame High School. Johnston then returned to Knoxville as associate pastor of Holy Ghost Parish. Johnston was named

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

and moderator of the diocesan curia in 1996, and later pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in

Alcoa, Tennessee Alcoa is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 10,978 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area. As its name suggests, Alcoa was the site of a large aluminum smelting pl ...

, in addition to his curial duties, on May 14, 2007. In 2002, Johnston and two other priests saved a man and his two children from falling over a waterfall in Glacier National Park in Montana. US Secretary of the Interior

Gale Norton Gale Ann Norton (born March 11, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. A member of the Republican Party, she previously serve ...

awarded them the Citizen's Award for Bravery on February 2, 2005. Upon receiving the award, Johnston remarked, "We were all very surprised, partly because it happened two and a half years ago. We didn't think too many people were even aware of it." Johnston supports the celebration of

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in ...

, but has said he does not "hold a great personal attachment to it" due to his relatively young age. He also supports the use of

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...

and

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...

during mass. He has cited

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

, Chet Atkins, and

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...

as some of his favorite musical artists.

Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

On January 24, 2008, Johnston was appointed the sixth bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He later stated at a press conference, "I am eager to learn about the Church in Southern Missouri, and to become part of God's family here." Johnston also announced that, as bishop, he would:

"Seek out those who have fallen away from the practice of their Catholic faith, reach out to the unchurched, and seek to meet brothers and sisters of other faith communities and churches on areas of common belief and shared concerns."

Johnston received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on March 31, 2008, from Archbishop Raymond Burke, with Archbishop

Joseph Kurtz Joseph Edward Kurtz (born August 18, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky from 2007 to 2022. He previousl ...

and Bishop John Leibrecht serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph

On September 15, 2015,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named Johnston as bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He was installed on November 4, 2015, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City. On June 27, 2016, in a special church service, Johnston apologized to victims of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

in the diocese for the abuse itself and the cover-up by the church. His predecessor, Bishop Robert Finn, had pleaded guilty in 2012 to a charge of failing to report an individual abusing a child. On March 23, 2021, Johnston announced the laicization in December 2020 of Reverend Michael Tierney, who had multiple credible accusations of sexual abuse of children.

Viewpoints

Abortion

In May 2009, noting that US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

"has taken steps on multiple fronts to undermine the protection of innocent human life", Johnston said the decision of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

to have Obama deliver the commencement speech at its graduation ceremony and receive an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

was "saddening and bewildering." Johnston also said,

"While we must pray for our president, respect his office, and acknowledge and support the good things he does to lead our nation, it is also our duty to make known our opposition to those actions and decisions that stand in direct opposition to the moral law and the foundational principals of America."

On September 14, 2020, just before the

2020 US presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...

, Johnston sent a controversial letter to parishioners in the diocese. In the letter, Johnston asked voters to examine which party supported so-called moral issues such as

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

. When asked if he was endorsing Republican Party candidates, Johnston said that he was only asking voters to vote their conscience.

Same sex marriage

In May 2009, Johnston criticized what he believed was unfair treatment of Miss California

Carrie Prejean Caroline Michelle Prejean Boller ( Prejean; ; born 1987) is an American model, former Miss California USA 2009, and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean was stripped of her Miss California USA crown for alleged breaches of contract. Litigation ...

, who placed second at

Miss USA 2009 Miss USA 2009 was the 58th Miss USA pageant, held at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Paradise, Nevada, on April 19, 2009. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Kristen Dalton (Miss USA), Kristen Dalton of Mi ...

competition. When asked if she supported

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, Prejean said no. Johnston remarked:

"...shows just how much American culture, in such a short time, has drifted away from the moorings that have given the nation strength and stability... ndshows the fierce intolerance of many of those who advocate redefining marriage to include same-sex unions."

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, James Vann 1959 births Living people People from Knoxville, Tennessee Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield–Cape Girardeau Roman Catholic bishops of Kansas City–Saint Joseph 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States University of Tennessee alumni Catholic University of America alumni Catholics from Tennessee Catholic University of America School of Canon Law alumni