George zabelka biography

George Benedict Zabelka (1915–1992) was a.
George Benedict Zabelka was born on May 8, 1915 in St Johns, Michigan.
George Benedict Zabelka was a Catholic wartime chaplain of the U.S. Army Air Force.

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The Reluctant Prophet DVD – George Zabelka

View the video here. This film is not simply a biography; it is a visual testament that reflects the breadth of Christian doctrine and a view that the heart of Christianity is living a discipleship of Christ as active non-violence. As a young priest and active duty officer in World War II, Father George Zabelka was the chaplain who offered spiritual reassurance to the crews of the bomber planes (right before the planes left the ground) that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Father Zabelka remembers that he did not object before the planes took off although he knew what the planes were ordered to do. The severity of those attacks and devastation for civilians caused by those bombs prompted Father Zabelka to question what level of killing is acceptable and to what ends. The conflict grew for him between his identity as a Catholic priest and his identity as a military chaplain who had given religious sanction and moral clearance to the bomber crews. Father Zabelka questioned if it is possible to be a Christian and also t

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George Benedict Zabelka

Chaplain of the U.S. Army Air Force

George Benedict Zabelka
Ordination	June 7, 1941 by Joseph H. Albers
Born	(1915-05-08)May 8, 1915 St. John’s, Michigan
Died	April 11, 1992(1992-04-11) (aged 76) Flint, Michigan
Buried	Crestwood Memorial Cemetery
Nationality	American
Denomination	Catholic
Parents	John J. and Katarina Zabelka
Occupation	Chaplain
Education	Sacred Heart Minor Seminary of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
Alma mater	Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West

George Benedict Zabelka (1915–1992) was a Catholic wartime chaplain of the U.S. Army Air Force. He was assigned to the 509th Composite Group, the unit which was responsible for dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Stationed on Tinian Island, his duties included saying Mass on Sunday and during the week, hearing confessions, talking with the soldiers, and other typical duties of a wartime chaplain. He later followed a theology of Gospel nonviolence.

Early life

George Zabelka was born in St. John's, M

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FR. GEORGE ZABELKA

By FR. CHARLIE McCARTHY

“What about all those children destroyed at Auschwitz?” the priest asked, in a tone that was demanding and aggressive. “What about all*those children destroyed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?” I retorted. “And never forget, Father,” I continued, “it was baptized Christians who were die primary executioners of Auschwitz, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” This “dialogue” is my oldest memory of Fr. George Zabelka,the Catholic Chaplain who served the Atomic Bomb Crews in the summer of 1945. The exchange occurred in 1973, at a retreat I was conducting on Christian Nonviolence for the priests of the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan. At the time, I was not aware of his involvement with the A-Bomb Group. Needless to say, Fr. Zabelka was no believer in nonviolence. Yet, unbeknown to me until several years later, he left that Retreat Center fighting round one of what was to be a two-year battle for his faith. In December 1975,1 received Fr. Zabelka’s annual Christmas letter. In the last paragraph he made an announcement that must have dumbfounded those friends who