Don’t miss the latest CAM podcast: Episode 50!
I know, I know — it’s almost three hours long! But it is the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and this episode provides a great “behind the scenes” oral history that you won’t hear elsewhere; not to mention it acts as a great testimony to the way God works in human lives and human history, carrying out his plans in ways we can’t even see or could ever possibly plan.
God had a plan for George’s life. Find out more about:
- What he did as a Catholic chaplain in 1945 at Tinian Island
- Why he “blessed the bombs” of the 509th composite group, the group that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan
- How belligerent Fr. Zabelka was when he first showed up at Fr. McCarthy’s retreats in the mid-70s. (“Are you telling me Jesus wouldn’t enjoy a good boxing match?!”)
- His eventual conversion.
- How his story came to be known around the world, despite Catholic media having no interest in it whatsoever.
- How his story helped to spark the movement on the part of the U.S. bishops that eventually led to the writing and publishing of their 1983 pastoral “The Challenge of Peace” (which was a really big deal back in its day)
- Why Zabelka is “considered a saint” in some circles of Japanese Christianity
To me, the story of George is unimaginably important. The story of why there are hardly any Catholics who know about George is equally important. It’s a great story, one about conversation, repentance, peace. Why were so few media outlets in the United States, both American and Catholic, so disinterested in telling it?
Don’t forget to watch the documentary about George as well, “The Reluctant Prophet”:
Fr George Zabelka, The Reluctant Prophet from GNV Team on Vimeo.
