Well, let's say that since "this particular Pope" is the head of the Roman Catholic Church (the alleged "Vicar of Christ"), and the Roman Catholic Church teaches the following (found in its catechism):
841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
Seems like the equating is pretty obvious. And this goes beyond what was said by the popester when he referred to them as "dear brothers," and "brothers and sisters" -- the bold and underlining above pretty much says it all: the Roman Catholic Church is preaching heresy: the plan of salvation set forth by God Almighty has EVERYTHING to do with his Son Jesus, our Savior and Lord and our need for him as the propitiation for our sins; Mohammedans definitely don't subscribe to this, but the CCC seems to include them....
Hoss
Ok, so you are admitting that what the popester said specifically, does not equate Muslims as Christians.
Your problem is with the actual religion of the Catholic Church.
At least we’ve made progress in specifics. And I’m personally shocked that a non Catholic would find Catholic teaching, somehow, heretical, ironic as that may be.
“Seems like the equating is pretty obvious. “
Not at all. Plucking a portion of the catechism out in isolation is no more substantive than plucking an isolated verse out of Scripture.
You are wrong in your interpretation of 841 and you only have to go to 839 to see why.
If you want true understanding of what you misinterpret, read 839 and you will see that it is talking about the relationship between The Church and non Christians, including Jewish people and Muslims. As Jews are part of God’s Salvation plan, so are the Muslims. The truth found in any non Christian religion is, the parts that are true, is seen as a preparation for the Full Truth of the Gospel.
844 and 845 get a little more pointed in regard to those deceived. And 846 will just open up a whole other can of worms and blow the mind.
You need to read that page and a half in its entirety.