True Father Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the Catholic University of La Plata while in Danbury Prison

More than 500 people filled the United Nations Delegates’ Dining Room on November 15, 1984, when True Father and Dr. Bo Hi Pak were awarded honorary degrees of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Catholic University of La Plata, Argentina. True Mother received the degree on behalf of True Father, who at the time was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution at Danbury, Connecticut. Monsignor Antonio Jose Plaza, archbishop of La Plata and chancellor of the university, traveled to New York to bestow the award despite objections from the Vatican. True Mother thanked the chancellor and university for their “courageous stand … in recognizing and honoring my husband at this difficult time.”

True Father previously had received an honorary doctorate in law from Ricker College, Maine, in 1975. During his time in Danbury, he received four additional honorary doctorates. The first was awarded by La Plata University, also in Argentina. The second, on May 11, 1985, was conferred by the Shaw University Divinity School, affiliated with the Methodist Church. The third, on May 28, 1985, was from the Bible Theological Seminary of the State of Florida, and the final one was awarded by Vennard College on August 15, 1985.