This is the statement of the counter Reformation Council...
CHAPTER VIII:
HOW THE GRATUITOUS JUSTIFICATION OF THE SINNER BY FAITH IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD
But
when the Apostle says that man is justified by faith and freely, these words are to be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted unanimity of the Catholic Church has held and expressed them, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification. For, if by grace, it is not now by works, otherwise, as the Apostle says, grace is no more grace.
This isn't the point of contention between Catholics and the Reformers.
No that isn't true. We believe that faith by nature moves a person to increase in good works, in virtue, in charity and that faith by it's very nature results in a recoiling from sin, a genuine sorrow for sin and a desire to make amends for our sins. We believe all of that is what faith is. That is the point of contention between our and your understanding.