"Carte blanche"? Hardly. There is a huge difference between the above quote and the idea that God and our Salvation history are limited to literal, sometimes word-by word, often self-interpretation of Scripture. Again, often a rejected verse in these discussions, John the Evangelist himself said that not everything Jesus did could ever be written.
Again, Catholic in lower case, "Book of Mormon" and Koran on caps...
Yes....catholics run to John 20:30 yet ignore 31.
30Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Please due notice the limitation though of v30.....signs Jesus did in the presence of the disciples. This greatly narrows down the time period we're talking about.
Catholics will also run to John 21:25 for the same reason. No doubt the life of Jesus, which is eternal, would be very, very, expansive. None doubt that.
However we have the Word of God to show us the path to salvation. How to have a forgiveness and a relationship with God on an eternal basis.
If the Bible is not the standard by which we measure truth, as we are told to search the Scriptures, then any source could be claimed as truth. Hence the reference to the Koran, Book of Mormon, Aunt Mary had a vision, etc.
My point is that the roman catholic church has had opportunites over the years to "canonize" additional books to the Bible that cover some of the aspects of Mary but they have not. And there's a reason they haven't.
I'm a Catholic of the Roman Rite. I chose after a long and painful process, to come back to the Church. I believe what she teaches and what she has taught throughout the centuries. Why would I cast aside the wisdom of centuries of minds, hearts, and souls who have done the interpreting for me, to go off on my own, with a truncated version of my Bible, and abandon all that the Catholic Church has to offer? I don't have the audacity to delude myself. I did once. Thought I knew it all. I left and my life was empty because I thought I knew it all and yet found nothing.
Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church present the fullest picture. If you choose the Bible only, that's up to you. Just please don't make the assumption that you know what we're all about. It's a lifelong journey and process.
As for the deuterocanonical books, such as the Protoevangelium of James, they are part of our Sacred Tradition. Not all, not all the pseudoepigraphia, and none of the gnostic gospels. It's a matter of validity, commonality, and other factors for greater minds and hearts than my own. No, not part of the Canon. We did not add them to it. We also did not remove Scripture from the Canon. Read the Apocrypha sometime. 1 Maccabees especially. Then think of the Christians being persecuted, burned, decapitated today. It makes the arguments between Christians in the West seem so petty and foolish, when the Judeo-Christian tradition on which our nation was built is falling apart. Who is to say when the West will be next? We need each other. And we need to stop looking at one another as enemies.
Returning to the article, hey, if the man left the life he'd been living, I'd be happy for him, whatever denomination he chose. The CCC says:
The Second Vatican Council speaks of salvation outside the Church in Lumen Gentium, nos. 14 and 16. Here are the pertinent sections from those two articles: 14. This Sacred Council wishes to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mk 16:16; Jn 3:5) and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church. Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved. [. . .] 16. [. . .] Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience. Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel. She knows that it is given by Him who enlightens all men so that they may finally have life.