Ronald Philippe Bär (29 July 1928 – 8 March 2025) was a Dutch

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who was bishop of the Diocese of Rotterdam from 19 October 1983 to 13 March 1993, as well as bishop of the Dutch military ordinariate. He resigned unexpectedly amid rumours of homosexual contacts.

Background

Bär was born in

Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...

North Sulawesi North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...

, then part of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, on 29 July 1928. During the Second World War, he was separated from his parents and detained in a Japanese internment camp.His parents were part of the protestant

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

. After World War II, Bär moved to the Netherlands and studied protestant theology at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

. He was briefly a member of the

Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undiv ...

. At the seminary, he was in the same class as Antonius Jan Glazemaker, the later Archbishop of Utrecht. In 1954, Bär joined the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

ministry Chevetogne Abbey as a monk, choosing the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

Philippe. He died in Teteringen on 8 March 2025, at the age of 96.

Roman Catholic sex abuse case

In 2011, Bär's name was mentioned in connection with a sex abuse case involving a Roman Catholic priest, who reportedly abused dozens of children in the period from 1987 to 2008: "The cardinal ( Cardinal Simonis) was told by the then bishop of Rotterdam, Philippe Bär, that the priest had sexually abused underage boys in his parish in Zoetermeer. Bishop Bär wanted the priest out of his diocese. Archbishop Simonis then arranged for the man to be moved to a parish in Amersfoort."

References

1928 births 2025 deaths People from Manado 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the Netherlands Religious controversies in the Netherlands Dutch Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II {{europe-RC-bishop-stub

Background

Roman Catholic sex abuse case

See also

References