Robert O'Neill Burns librarian
"The archive is an important resource not only for the study of Father Bullock's life but also for the study of community relations in Boston, especially the collaborative efforts between Christians and Jews to educate people, especially young people, about the lessons of the Holocaust and about respect for human rights. It is about helping young people make moral choices and learn from the past," said Robert O'Neill, Burns librarian.
O'Neill also said that Bullock was "a gentle guide" for the founding of the organization and its widespread influence. He worked as an early chair of the board of directors and later chair of the board of scholars. His main interests lay in the understanding and acceptance of all faiths and communities.
"He devoted his life in service to others and was especially involved in building bridges between communities," said O'Neill.
Bullock was especially concerned with reconciling differences between the Christian and Jewish communities and in the mutual respect of both parties. He worked closely with the president of the Jewish Life Network and close personal friend, Rabbi Irving Greenberg in bringing these groups together. As leaders who devoutly practiced their own respective faiths, they served as examples of two opposing beliefs understanding and admiring one another.
"Father Bullock admired [Rabbi Greenberg] for the clarity and wisdom of his writing and for the way he addressed challenges that mass violence and genocide posed to humanity in general and to the religious communities in particular," said Bonnie Rosenberg, vice president of Development and Public Affairs at Facing History.
Bullock's own commitment to facing such issues made him a leader in bridging gaps and an educator in moral ideals. The new archives, which will be available to students, will exhibit his works and ideas.
The archive will contain a vast collection of Bullock's works, which include personal papers, sermons, correspondence, photographs, and audio and television programs in which he participated.
"The materials and photographs found in the archives illustrate Father Bullock's deep commitment to the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish-Christian relations, and to the educational work of Facing History and Ourselves," said Rosenberg.
The library's collaboration with Facing History aims to preserve the documents that allow students to understand their history and Bullock's teachings.
It is a dynamic archive that will continue to expand and develop over time, striving to provide students with a rich collection of documents that they can utilize.
The archive goes along with the Burns Library's efforts to preserve Boston's history and to make it readily available for students. The librarians said they hope that students will take advantage of its resources and that they will be more aware of the original resources that are available to them at Burns.
Facing History is global network of educators, working in over 70 countries around the world and reaching about 1.6 million students each year. The organization works to help history teachers, primarily in middle school and high school, on how to instruct their students in these historical affairs and how to grapple with their issues in our present society.
"[Facing History and Ourselves] teaches students how to be active participants in society. It teaches how the choices people made allowed these events to occur," said Kyle Meingast, development assistant of Facing History and BC '06.
The organization, founded in 1976 by executive director Margot Sternstrom, aims primarily to educate students on the lessons of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide and connect them to racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism today. "Students learn about the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement, [and] the genocide in Rwanda which can all teach us about social injustice," said Meingast.
Teachers are given the resources through the organization to educate youth on how their own choices can affect the course of today's society through lessons from the past. They can attend seminars run by the organization which last from two days to a week that provide them with the means to be effective instructors, or they can utilize the organization's online institutes that also provide them with teaching methods and resources.
The opening of the archives Thursday will be celebrated with an exhibit of the life and work of Bullock. It will begin at 4 p.m. with a brief ceremony, followed by a reception and keynote address by Rabbi Greenberg.
The presence of the Bullock archives at BC marks its growing reputation as a university of international notability.
"The link between Boston College and Facing History and Ourselves is of international significance, and this is a link all of us at BC can be proud of," said O'Neill.
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