An Open Question

I recently emailed the following question to an Evangelical who routinely and publicly condemns the Catholic Church as proclaiming a “false gospel of works.” I haven’t received a reply. If anyone who has made a similar accusation against the Catholic Church can please answer this question for me, I would very much appreciate it.

Here’s the question:

If the Council of Trent taught “If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or through the teaching of the law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema” (Decree on Justification, Canon 1),

and The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives credit for all of our good works to God, not to us: “The merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man’s merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit (#2008)…. The charity of Christ is the source in us of all our merits before God” (#2011),

which is entirely in line with John 15:4-5, why do you say that Catholicism proclaims a “false gospel of works”?

For a detailed explanation of true Catholic teaching on this subject, read “What the Catholic Church Really Teaches About Justification” elsewhere on this blog.