Of course, but I'm not talking about those who are truly lost and without Christ. Certainly there is such a thing as the "entire truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" and the question, then, is who knows it and HOW do they know it? I believe the truth of the Gospel is found in God's sacred word - it is His assurance to us that we are not left to the whims of men who may or may not have the best of intentions. We CAN know the truth because God TOLD it to us. We also have the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us into all truth when we seek to know it.
I don't know how familiar you are with Protestant denominations but the majority of them started out having very little that separated one from the other. Most differences were not doctrinal but organizational, liturgical, traditions or church governance. Not every self-named Christian denomination is necessarily Christian, either, but must be based on those major historical tenets that define Christianity and have from the start.
Ergo, Francis' words make no sense. The only way they do make sense is if he a) does not believe that the Catholic Church possesses the whole truth and/or b) does not believe that truth ultimately matters. If the former, he's a heretic, if the latter, he's a syncretist.
Where I think he is correct on this small point is recognizing that genuine Christians do exist outside of Catholicism - and your own Catechism affirms this. What's the point of hammering on someone like me, for example, to "come back" to Catholicism when I already believe and accept the Christian truths and have a relationship with and follow Jesus Christ? I did not have that kind of experience within Catholicism but I now know that I have eternal life with Jesus Christ. I question Catholics who seem to disagree with EVERYTHING their current Pope says almost as a knee-jerk reaction. On this point he is at least talking about something that IS part of your faith - at least as far as Vatican II and the current Catechism, that is.
No, the one big difference is that they all apostatized from the One, True Church. Heretics tend to flock together, like crows.
For the purposes of this discussion, I'm assuming that everybody possesses the full truth of the Gospel.....at least in their own mind.
The question is, therefore, isn't it natural to want to spread that truth to those who don't have it in its completeness, whether they be atheists, agnostics or other believers who possess only a part of the truth?
Where I think he is correct on this small point is recognizing that genuine Christians do exist outside of Catholicism - and your own Catechism affirms this.
I've see nothing in the transcripts of the Pope's remarks which indicates any disinction between "those who are truly lost" (as you put it) and those who are "genuine Christians" (as you put it). My understanding is that his condenmation of proselytism is a blanket condemnation. He's saying "we don't proselytize....period".
What's the point of hammering on someone like me, for example, to "come back" to Catholicism when I already believe and accept the Christian truths and have a relationship with and follow Jesus Christ?
The word "hammering" is Francis-talk. That's how he views proselytism. It's a pejorative term. Spreading the faith doesn't have to be that way. The author of the article and similar converts don't feel they've been "hammered". They're grateful for being brought to the fullness of the truth.