Fairly quickly he realized that Lutherans were not friendly to his respect for the liturgy, thinking him too Catholic, and he became Catholic, entered Catholic seminary, and became a priest of the Oratory. However, many Catholic authorities then found his respect for scripture too Protestant. Notwithstanding, he became an important Patristic and Newman scholar, and he was a key theologian in the Second Vatican Conference. (I'm finding his other books, even used, aren't cheap, which may be an indication of their continued demand.)
His story keeps bringing me back to the homily David Moyer delivered at St Mary's in early 2011, on the subject that the Church is a battleground. Possibly because much of Bouyer's experience takes place in France, the story is an amazing pattern of betrayals, disappointments, careerism, backbiting, egoism, petty jealousies, and so forth. My wife reminds me that the lives of the saints are full of just this sort of thing. When I think about what's happened in the progress of the Ordinariates and the ongoing saga of St Mary's, it's hard not to draw parallels.
