In 1941, he received his doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University under Charles Boyer, SJ.
That same year, he joined the theology faculty at Fourvière, near Lyon, alongside Henri de Lubac.
The book so emphasized the human role in conversion that it seemed to many neo-Thomists to call into question God's assistance in the process.
[1] When de Lubac's Surnaturel was published in 1946, Bouillard's book became part of a more general debate on the position of the Fourvière theologians.
[2] In 1950, Bouillard was removed from his teaching post at Fourvière because of his connections to the strands of thought known as nouvelle théologie.