Was C.S. Lewis Catholic?

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spectre49

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I found several C.S. Lewis books on my “non-denominational” son’s bookshelf. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought that Lewis was Catholic or close to conversion?? Just need a quick answer that will give me (another) opening to start a conversation about the fullness of our faith.
 
No, he wasn’t Catholic. He was, however, very high-church, with a lot of Catholic sensibilities. His secretary and one of the maintainers of his estate, Walter Hooper, has said that, given the upheaval in the Anglican church, he is sure Lewis would have become Catholic if he had lived to witness it.
 
He believed in Purgatory, which is a distinctively Catholic doctrine. However, he never converted. Since he never converted, God - in His infinite wisdom - sent us Peter Kreeft.

God Bless,
RyanL
 
After reading Mere Christianity, I think he’s about as close to a Catholic as you can get without actually being Catholic.

One thing that might have influenced him from making that final step is his cultural background. Lewis was from Ulster. The rivalry between the Catholics of Ireland and the Protestants of Nortern Ireland go back a long time and runs very, very deep.
 
My personally imperfect assessment is that Lewis was what is called “High Anglican” in the UK and Australia. Essentially completely orthodox with Catholicism except for a) female priests b) married priests and c) lack of primacy to Rome.

But as I said that’s my imperfect opinion - I have no academic authority on this.
 
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were very good friends. They were both part of the same writers club that used to meet. I know that Lewis also used to poke fun at Tolkien for being Catholic. Probably a friendly rival thing.
 
MommyZ said:
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were very good friends. They were both part of the same writers club that used to meet. I know that Lewis also used to poke fun at Tolkien for being Catholic. Probably a friendly rival thing.
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I read a book about J.R.R. Tolkien. According to the biography, Lewis’ and Tolkien’s friendship cooled after Lewis’ conversion. Tolkien was disappointed that he did not become a catholic. However, there is evidence they reconciled shortly before Lewis’ death.

Little trivia for you, C.S. Lewis died November 22, 1963 - the same day John F. Kennedy was assasinated.
 
C S Lewis was a High Church Anglican. He gave a good deal of credit to Tolkien for his conversion to Christianity from agnosticism.
 
MommyZ said:
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were very good friends. They were both part of the same writers club that used to meet. I know that Lewis also used to poke fun at Tolkien for being Catholic. Probably a friendly rival thing.
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Tolkien was Catholic? I did not know that?

L I B Darn, he was Catholic!

I wonder if my Fundamentalists friends and relatives that are Lord of the Rings fans know that?
 
After Lewis’ death, his brother converted to Catholicism. I guess he saw what Lewis did not. I have heard that his wife converted after his death as well.
 
catholicbudgie said:
My personally imperfect assessment is that Lewis was what is called “High Anglican” in the UK and Australia. Essentially completely orthodox with Catholicism except for a) female priests b) married priests and c) lack of primacy to Rome.

But as I said that’s my imperfect opinion - I have no academic authority on this.
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a) I’m pretty sure this is an idea that is novel since the death of Lewis.
b) There’s nothing incompatible with married priests and the Catholic Church, as evidenced by the licit ordination of married priests in the Eastern Catholic rites, as well as the continuation of priesthood for married Anglican converts.
c) Well every schismatic must by definition lack this. Sorry for pointing out the obvious, I just thought I should say something about part c (and I was clutching straws)!
 
catholicbudgie said:
My personally imperfect assessment is that Lewis was what is called “High Anglican” in the UK and Australia. Essentially completely orthodox with Catholicism except for a) female priests b) married priests and c) lack of primacy to Rome.

But as I said that’s my imperfect opinion - I have no academic authority on this.
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Married priests, strictly speaking, is not a sign of heterodoxy. What is heterodox is when it is done in disobedience to the Holy Father. This promotes schism, when it has not already been done; in this case this obviously is not so.
 
Atreyu, prv I did say imperfect 🙂 Points well made, and taken in.

Cheers, CB.
 
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