Bishop Meikle- The Man From Left Field

Just Who is this Man?

Last night the RunDown had a very unusual guest, a Bishop Meikle of unknown origin and unknown affiliation.  Not often does this wolf have an unexpected fly ball come his way any more, but this is one that took a considerable amount of running down.  So, without any further ado- the rundown.

Bishop Meikle, if the Quack Attack can be trusted, is pastor of Immaculate Conception Church at 8531 Bolton Ave in Hudson Florida.  (Which is quite interesting because apparently the institution does not hold to the Immaculate Conception as a formal dogma- but more on that in a minute.)

Unfortunately the website for Immaculate Conception Church does not give any of the background for either its institution or even a biographical sketch of Bishop Meikle.  But on the page dealing with the "Apostolic Succession" a list of names appears.  And if one inquires into the background of Gerard George Shelley one hits the proverbial jackpot.

To make a long story short, Bishop Meikle is of a branch of the "Old Catholic Church" that separated itself from peace and communion with Rome following the definition of papal infallibility by Vatican I.  So I suppose I have no choice but to open that whole can of worms.

First off let it be said that I have a lot more in common with Bishop Meikle than he might realize.  I agree with Cardinal Pie of Poitiers that the Counciliar age of Holy Mother Church ended with Trent and that calling another council ran the danger of creating buffooneries and spurious definitions of dogma, and this is precisely what happened with the dogma of papal infallibility.  HOWEVER, one cannot have a problem with the definition per se, largely because, strictly speaking, it is circular.  The Pope can define matters of faith and morals, but only in those matters universally believed by Holy Mother Church in all times and all places.  So how do we know the pope is "in bounds"?  By the universal consent of the bishops, successors of the Apostles.  Vatican I CLEARLY taught the pope is not free to define utter novelties, but preserves the Sacred Deposit of the Faith, given "once for all to the saints" as the expression goes.  And so in the definition of papal infallibility, we see no departure or rupture from the faith.

Therefore, the Church of Utrecht became CLEARLY schismatic and should be recognized as such.  And all bishops subsequently consecrated by this breakaway group must be seen to be participating in the schism.  Just because everything went to hell during Vatican II does not annul this schism; just the opposite- it muddies the waters still further.

Now if the God of Heaven really is the Lovey Dovey Supersweet Sugerdaddy Doting Old Grandfather of Vatican II then none of us (except perhaps Archbishop Lefebvre and the Austrian Painter) really have anything to worry about, because, as Bishop Barron claims, hell is a heck of a lot emptier than what was seen at Fatima, as St Jacinta must have prayed them all into heaven, and we can go back to watching the Superbowl, or Kentucky Derby, or the World Series.  But for those of us who want to hedge our bets and stick with the rigid interpretation at Fatima, it will never do to act outside the bounds of the Traditional Church.

Of interest is the fact that Immaculate Conception Church in Florida holds some of its Masses in English.  One wonders if this is the King's English or Cromwell's English.  But, be that as it may, this is obviously a departure from the practice of the church in 1870 or so, when the schism occurred.  Moreover, one does find quotes on website of Immaculate Conception Church claiming unity with Rome as per the declarations of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Dominus Jesus published in 2000 under the pontificate of JP2.  (Why anybody would want to be united with the Rome of 2000, as per its pronouncements, is one of those mysteries...)

Now, if the documentation and explanations on the Immaculate Conception Church website can confuse this wolf, I can only imagine what happens when the poor suckers who have had their brains stultified by 20 plus years of Bogus Ordo stumble across this site.  I would recommend to Bishop Meikle that he be rather more up front about the history of his organization, his personal history (I still really don't have a clue who consecrated Bishop Meikle or even a biographical sketch.) and just let the proverbial chips fall where they may.  Yes, we have all been excommunicated by Michael Matt's Circular Firing Squad, and God knows it is not easy keeping one's head above water- which is why I am always constantly having recourse to Our Lady of Fatima.

Now, according to what I read over at Wikipedia concerning the Old Catholic Church of Caer-Glow, they don't hold to the dogmas of either the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Now, I don't know what these people meditate upon when they pray the 15th mystery of the Most Holy Rosary as given to St Dominic in the 13th century and codified by Pius V in 1517, but, on this feast day of Lourdes February 11th, they might contemplate that Our Lady of Lourdes told dumb little clodhopper Bernadette that "I am the Immaculate Conception", and it was exactly because Bernadette was a premier- to use an expression of Princess Leia- "nerf herder" that her pastor was stupefied when she repeated the words to him.

Now, yes, I recognize more than many people what an evil lot the popes have been since at least the very short and storied pontificate of Celestine V, being very much more interested in the Oriental cinnamon trade and pagan gold than the shepherding of souls.  But that peace and communion with the Chair of Peter has been danged handy (until relatively recent times- and just look how the wheels have fallen off since then) for backwoods priests and secluded monks and Italian grandmas (And Irish Grandmas too).  And until really recently the popes have made a very good job of it just pretending to be Catholic.  (In fact that is why Our Lady appeared at La Salette, Lourdes, and Fatima- to keep modernist and liberal Rome on its toes and not let the proverbial wheels fall off until God's appointed time...)

So, even though the Rome of Pope Frantic has now become a no-holds-barred Seat of the Antichrist and a haven for every impure demon in Seventy times Seven Magdalenes, WE must be careful to, as Our Lady of Fatima put it, pray for the Holy Father, and keep our eyes on Rome at least until the Vatican is reduced to nuclear ashes.  (Allegedly Putin will give it 72 hours notice.)

On the other side of the aisle is those poor souls (especially in the Novus Ordo wasteland) who hunger for a good shepherd and seek to stay "in Communion with Rome" even if that means swallowing a good dose of the Abomination of Desolation.  So, yes, at this point only prayer is going to keep us on the straight and narrow.

My advice to Brother Martin:  STAY AWAY from this pile of poo poo.  Yes, I fully understand the desire to be of help to souls, and to perpetuate the Traditional Mass and the Holy Catholic Faith.  The ONLY HOPE I see at this point is the SSPX seminary and the SSPX bishops.  But they leave a lot to be desired.  (I will open that can of worms another time.)

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.  You are our only hope!