Can't believe I'm going to type a serious reply in the Paddock...but the OP seems genuine.
The major doctrinal divide between Catholics and Protestants (and the issue that sparked the Reformation 499 years ago Tuesday) is the issue of salvation by grace through faith alone due entirely to the finished work of Christ, not our own works, (the Protestant position; see Ephesians 2:8-10) vs. salvation by grace through continual obedience to the sacraments (baptism, mass, confession etc.).
A Catholic must "earn" grace (Protestants see this as an oxymoron because grace by definition is unearned) by continually participating in the sacraments...a combination of faith and works in salvation.
Protestants claim that this idea of salvation is unbiblical and therefore only those who trust fully in Christ's finished work on the cross (not in their own works, which the Bible calls filthy rags in God's eyes...and this applies to any works based religion) will enter the Kingdom of God.
I would simply say I think you have been mislead or misinformed a bit when it comes to the issue and what Catholics teach. Sorry for the lengthy response, but I just got done discussing this in one of my RICA classes...
Here goes:
The Catholic Church has never taught such a doctrine and, in fact, has constantly condemned the notion that men can earn or merit salvation. Catholic soteriology (salvation theology) is rooted in apostolic Tradition and Scripture and says that it is only by God's grace--completely unmerited by works--that one is saved.
The Church teaches that it's God's grace from beginning to end which justifies, sanctifies, and saves us. As Paul explains in Philippians 2:13, "God is the one, who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work."
Notice that Paul's words presuppose that the faithful Christian is not just
desiring to be righteous, but is actively
working toward it. This is the second half of the justification equation, and Protestants either miss or ignore it.
James 2:17 reminds us that "faith of itself, if it does not have work, is dead." In verse 24 James says, "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." And later: "For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (2:26).
The Council of Trent harmonizes the necessity of grace and works: "If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or by the teaching of the Law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema" (Session 6; can. 1).
The Council fathers continued by saying, "If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema" (Session 6: can. 9).
By the way, "let him be anathema" means "let him be excommunicated," not "let him be cursed to hell." The phrase was used in conciliar documents in a technical, theological sense, not in the same sense as the word "anathema" is found in Scripture. Don't let "Bible Christians" throw you for a loop on this one.
So, far from teaching a doctrine of "works righteousness" (that would be Pelagianism, which was condemned at the Council of Carthage in A.D. 418), the Catholic Church teaches the true, biblical doctrine of justification.
