“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.
I have...many times. And the only ones deceived are those who believe the false teaching of the RCC.
Hoss.