One minute book review: CS Lewis and the Catholic Church
C.S. Lewis & the Catholic Church is a book which investigates a fascinating question: why didn’t C.S. Lewis convert to Catholicism? After all, many Catholics who read Lewis discover a faith which they very must recognize as Catholic (with a capital “C”). One of his best friends, Tolkien, was a Catholic, he possessed a robust sacramental theology, believed in Purgatory and went to confession regularly. Why did he not “swim the Tiber”?
Joseph Pearce takes the reader through a tour of several of Lewis’ works, particularly The Pilgrim’s Regress, Surprised By Joy, The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity, tracing the threads of Catholic thought which can be found there, as well the points of contention with the Catholic Faith. He also digs into Lewis’ Ulster background, seeing what prejudices may have been deeply laid in his childhood.
One nice addition to this book was the appendix, which recounted the stories of those devoted to Lewis who eventually converted to Catholicism, including his own secretary, Walter Hooper. Lewis may have never formally entered into communion with the Bishop of Rome, but it becomes clear that his writings nevertheless influenced others in their journey “home to Rome”.