If you are honestly surprised in the recent statements from the Vatican, they you haven’t spent any time researching the RCC ecclesiology. By the very nature of their theology, they can not accept that any true Christian Church exists except for one that is in communion and ruled by the Pope. That is in effect, the basis for much of their theology.
Recently in the last 40 or 50 or so years, Rome has said that they are in impaired or partial communion with all those who have had valid Trinitarian baptism (which may or may not include those in Churches with valid Apostolic Succession). In effect, making non Catholic Christian part of the Catholic Church in some sort of way. As a Methodist, I suspect you have a similar doctrine of the Invisible Church.
That statement 40 years ago was news. This isn’t.
What is the title of the FR article to include parentheses?
1. Ecumenism: the Catholic Church clearly has misrepresented itself to the Protestants....or represented itself in such a way that it would take a team of lawyers to decipher it.
2. Apostolicity: that doesn’t have anything to do with the recent letter...directly. It’s a challenge to the pope’s hyper-denominational claims. It says that their claims of apostolic succession are extremely suspect.
In all fairness, that's not entirely accurate. See my post above regarding the view of those outside the Church.