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In the world of learning, there are a very few individuals who can look at the realities of culture and philosophy and bring them into frameworks of scholarship, with enduring impacts for posterity. His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan, Ph.D. (Cannon Law), whom Assumption University honors today, is the ideal example of such scholarship.
His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan, born in Italy in 1940, was ordained a Catholic priest in 1964 and Archbishop in 1989. Since 1971 he worked in the Vatican diplomatic service, with posts in Asia during the years 1971-1974 in Korea, and 1989-1999 in Pakistan and South-East Asia. Between 1993 and 1999 he was Papal Representative to the Kingdom of Thailand. Recognizing his contributions, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand decorated His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan in the year 1999 with The Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant. His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan is currently the Archbishop of Trent, Italy.
Since he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Cannon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome, His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan combined his ecclesiastical and diplomatic duties with historical research. He has published six books and over forty articles dealing with relations between the church and local societies. With Michael Smithies he has co-authored a book : "Thai-Vatican Relations in the Twentieth Century," to mark the Sixtieth Anniversary of H.M. the King's Accession to the Throne, published on behalf of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bangkok, in the year 2006. In addition, he authored two other books on the same subject: "King Chulongkorn and Pope Leo XIII" and "A Meeting of Worlds: the Interaction of Christian Missionaries and Thai Culture."
The illustrious academic works of His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan produced in Asia and Europe testify to the expansive scope of his academic interests, and lays out the fabric of a philosophy which encapsulates the Asia values of tolerance and assimilation of outside influences. Even as he served in several diplomatic posts from the years 1989 to 1999 in Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, His Excellency Archbishop Bressan researched and wrote voraciously of the cross influences of Catholicism and other religions. His academic style is of philosophical historicism. He uses diplomatic and historical research to impart the philosophy of eclectic and peaceful harmonization by cultures of different religious influences. In such is illustrated the disciplined mindset of a scholar, interacting with, and developing, a new philosophical appreciation of the different cultures in relation to the broader Christian faith.
Writing in the Foreword to the 2000 Edition of His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan's book "A Meeting of Worlds : The Interaction of Christian Missionaries and Thai Culture, published by the Assumption University Press," Rev. Brother Prathip Martin Komolmas, the then President of Assumption University of Thailand, observed : "One of the great hallmarks of traditional and modern Thai culture has been its high level of tolerance and willingness to assimilate outside influences. Thia character has not only expressed itself in our readiness to adapt scientific and economic innovations but also in the Thai willingness to allow our people to pursue their own vision of truth and the good life. These new beliefs inevitably become tinged with our own traditions, traditions which are themselves constantly developing, yet which somehow retain their own character." The scholarly works His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan produced on Asia bear witness to the unique type of philosophical eclecticism he has promoted in his writings, thereby bridging Asian and Western realities into complementary and mutual coexistence.
It is indeed commendable that the Catholic scholar Archbishop Luigi Bressan, who has through his erudite and consistent efforts entered into the worlds and traditions of other cultures, faiths and mind-sets, has written and added on to the corpus of cultural, historical and philosophical knowledge in the 20th and 21st centuries. Such compelling academic contribution is laudable and should be rewarded by academic institutions espousing the international spirit and promoting international understanding.
In recognition of the distinguished career of this eminent church scholar, thinker, historian and promoter of international cultures and understanding, Assumption University of Thailand is proud to confer on His Excellency Archbishop Luigi Bressan the title of Doctor of Religion Honoris Causa.
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