( January 21, 2026, 8:09 AM EST) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asks the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for a writ of certiorari to decide in a putative class case accusing the conference of fraud whether the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s church autonomy doctrine “protects churches from the burdens of litigating unconstitutional claims,” whether it can immediately appeal a ruling where it raised such a defense and whether “the ‘neutral principles’ approach developed for church property disputes” applies to a case concerning the use of annual offerings....