Et tu, Joseph?

Too often have I head of Catholic priests who have advised prospective converts that they could do more good by remaining in their own churches than by converting to the Catholic Church. Too often, I say! Scott Hahn had a priest tell him this in Milwaukee before his conversion, as I recall. I have heard it said in other contexts. And now we hear from a Vatican Radio article in German that Sigrid Spath was told the same thing by then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. I can't believe it! Here's the quotation in translation from New Catholic, "She wanted to convert. She listened to Cardinal Ratzinger and died a Lutheran" (RC, February 3, 2014):

It was also Cardinal Ratzinger who, according to her own testimony, advised Sigrid Spath to remain a Protestant, and not to convert to the Catholic Church, as she had considered in a moment of crisis. She could do more for both churches if she remained a Protestant, said the Cardinal. (emphasis added)

Oy, vey!