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In the mid 1990s, an ecumenical theological conference was held, calling together devout and enthusiastic members of various Christian faiths, including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox Christians and various Protestant Evangelists. At the closing of the conference, Father Joseph Fessio commented on the the striking world-wide appeal of the work of C.S. Lewis, a writer and theologian who remains revered by nearly every Christian. Catholic writer and teacher Peter Kreeft attended the conference, and recorded the following memories of Father Fessio's closing remarks:

Undeniably, Lewis is well-regarded with deep affection by many Christians of every stripe. His work, ranging from the enormously popular Chronicles of Narnia series for children, to his works of popular theology (most notably Mere Christianity) to his science fiction and neo-classic literature, has found a vast and enormous audience. And yet, it is difficult for me to imagine the scene described by Kreeft, wherein members of non-Catholic faiths cheered the notion of support for the collective work of C.S. Lewis.

It's difficult, in fact, for me to imagine anyone other than Roman Catholics endorsing Lewis's collective works, given that:

• Lewis did not believe in "sola fide", a bulwark of most Protestant denominations.


• Lewis believed in purgatory. Not only did he believe in it, but one of his best and most allegorical novels is about purgatory, and Lewis himself anticipated time in purgatory after his death.


• Lewis believed in and practiced confession. In fact, his practice of the Anglican version of confession was at a level deemed "eccentric," or certainly "Romanish," by members of his own church. Confession was offered by the Church of England for those who were sick and/or close to death. Lewis practiced it as a matter of course.



• Lewis believed in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Clearly, the only Christian Church that really agrees with the bulk of the collected works of C.S. Lewis is the Roman Catholic Church. Other Christian faiths might cherry-pick from his work, agreeing with this statement here or that statement there... but every Protestant faith I'm familiar with would have to disagree with or simply ignore some of what Lewis wrote.

Lewis's work, taken as a whole, was decidedly Roman Catholic… and, yet, Lewis never joined the Roman Catholic church. Forget about the trivial and absurd Da Vinci Code… the single greatest mystery in modern theology lies in this question: What kept C.S. Lewis apart from the Church that most fully preached the faith he believed, taught and practiced?

In C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, Joseph Pearce argues that Lewis was separated from Rome by a combination of the pressures of his success and deeply-rooted prejudices from his upbringing in Ulster, Ireland. Some of Pearce's arguments strike me as a bit presumptuous, and there are even passages in the book that seemed shrill. Yet the case Pearce makes for the Catholicism of Lewis's personal beliefs is rock solid.

After the success of his wildly popular Mere Christianity, Pearce sites sources and evidence that indicates that Lewis might have felt ensnared by the role he'd created for himself. Mere Christianity is a work of Christian apologetics, and it aims to convert the agnostic to Christianity without making any claim as to which denomination is precisely the right one. Lewis wanted his readers to determine matters of denomination for themselves. His goal was simply to bring them to Christ. After that, the reader would have to personally wade through the cultural and political quagmire of determining the best denomination on his own. Pearce believes that Lewis may have felt obligated to stay just as he was, an Anglican layman, after the book's tremendous success. A conversion on his part might have been divisive… possibly even destructive… among those who'd been won for Christ by Lewis's work. Once he became the "everyman's theologian," Lewis (it seems) felt obligated to remain so.

Beyond that, Lewis was brought up in an Ireland divided bitterly between Protestants and Catholics. Anti-Catholic bias was instilled in Lewis as a child, primarily by a nanny/nurse-maid who became Lewis's primary guardian after his mother died (see his autobiography, Surprised By Joy). Pearce argues quite convincingly that the roots of anti-Catholic prejudice ran too deeply into Lewis for him to pull them out. After his death, a Jesuit Priest named Father Guy Brinkworth published memoirs that included details about his correspondence with Lewis:

It's tantalizing to Roman Catholics, especially for us converts. For many of us, the work of C.S. Lewis was instrumental in guiding us to the Catholic Church. It's a puzzle, especially for me, that Lewis directed me there so clearly, and yet never converted. Like Moses, Lewis lead me to a promised land… and yet never entered it himself.

In Mere Christianity, Lewis described the faith allegorically as a long hallway filled with many doors. Christianity itself was the hallway, and different denominations were behind each of the doors. Lewis said that the goal of his book was simply to get readers into the hallway, but that it was up to each reader to then determine which door was the right one. He warned his readers not to simply pick the door that best suited his or her taste, but to carefully discern which one opened most fully to the true Church of Jesus Christ.

It's odd that Lewis himself wouldn't outwardly comment in the book on which door he felt was right… and yet, after reading as much of his work as I've been able to get my hands on, it's become obvious to me that Lewis was pointing me toward one door all along. He never crossed it's threshold himself, but he held my hand and led me to it. It was the door at the very end of the hallway, the oldest and the first. It was the door that St. Peter himself unlocked and made accessible to everyone. With it's distinctive Roman archway, it was easy to recognize.

And yet, even what lay beyond that door really was another hallway. This one, however, was better lit, more clearly marked, and most assuredly the one that will lead me, if I am faithful, to the Great and Final Room. Lewis didn't enter into this ornate and beautiful Hallway with me… yet I'm confident that I will see him eventually if, God willing, I find my way to the Room beyond .