“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works.” ~ James 2:21-22
James also said faith without works dead, and that is Catholic theology. They go hand in hand.
Yes, James said that. What he was saying was that those works justify us before men, not before God. In other words, those good works are evidence before other men of what God has already done in us. Our works don’t contribute to our salvation, they are evidence of it. There is no conflict between Paul and James.
It doesn’t matter what Catholic doctrine is. It only matters what Scripture says.