What this means is that once again the Press tried to do Theology and failed. Redemption and Salvation are not the same thing. If you knew the Truth of the Catholic Church and rejected Her, then yes you will be damned. Knowing the Truth is different than just knowing the Church exists.
I feel sorry for you. Your world will be rocked when you get to heaven and find a bunch of us protestants there. Salvation is of Jesus Christ, not the roman catholic or any other denomination.
Indeed, the spokeman is not correcting the pope but the press. Paradoxically, I don’t think that Calvin would have disagreed that among the heathen of China there are those who have never heard of Christ who are none the less “saved.” Or that among those who reject the concept of God, there are men who are pure in heart. Diamonds in the rough. Then there are those of us who fall far short even though we profess to be Christians.