Bishop Abel is the third child of William and Violet Abel of Fort Madison, Iowa. He was raised and educated in the Roman Catholic Church.

Bishop Abel began his priestly training while attending the Seminary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa at Saint Ambrose University where he received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in History in 1975. Bishop Abel left the Seminary and began his career in the secular world in the field of Human Resources.

Bishop Abel re-entered the Seminary of Saint Francis of Assisi; the Seminary of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite. He received an (STL) Letters in Sacred Theology degree prior to his ordination as a Priest in January of 1995 from Archbishop Floyd A. Kortenhof, of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite. the ordination was held at Saint Peters Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois.

Upon ordination, as a newly ordained Priest, Bishop Abel served as Pastor of Saint Mary Magdalene Parish, he founded, located in Lombard, Illinois. The parish used the facilities of Calvary Episcopal Church for five years, a post he led until he relocated to San Diego in 2000.

Upon his arrival to San Diego in June of 2000, Bishop Abel started a new Parish for the Church; All Saints Parish. At its founding, the Parish began using the facilities of Saint Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Carlsbad, California. All Saint's Parish used the original building (the Chapel) of Saint Michael's, a structure dating from the 1800's. After his consecration on May 24th of 2003, also held at Saint Michael's By-the-Sea. Bishop Abel continued to serve as Pastor of All Saints, Vicar General of the Church, and Auxiliary Bishop of the Vicariate of Saint Mary Magdalene of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite, with offices located in Elmwood Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, under the leadership of Archbishop Floyd A. Kortenhof.

In May of 2004, the Catholic Church of America was formed with its sole parish of All Saints. In 2005 Bishop Abel turned the parish over the Reverend Janine Stock. She lead the parish until 2018 at which time the parish closed.

In July of 2004 All Saints and the Catholic Church of America relocated to the facilities of Pilgrim United Church, Carlsbad, California. At the same time, Bishop Abel agreed to ordain the Sacred Priesthood, the first female Priest of the Church  At that time, All Saints and the Catholic Church of America came under the jurisdiction Bishop Abel as Presiding Bishop.

On November 6th of 2005 Bishop Abel founded Saint John the Beloved Cathedral. The Cathedral used the chapel facilities at University Christian Church, San Diego, CA. Mass was celebrated on Sunday at 11:30 in the morning. In 2006 the Catholic Church of America and the Diocese of California, American Catholic Church, to serve a wider area of the Country, blended their two ministries. Saint John's came under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of California, American Catholic Church. In 2016 these two ministries decided to continue their ministries separately.