In this April 19, 2011 photo, Roman Catholic Bishop Richard …

Tony Dejak | published: April 24, 2011

In this April 19, 2011 photo, Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Lennon participates in a Chrism mass in Cleveland. A fight over union rights of public workers in Ohio and Wisconsin energized mainline churches alarmed that the volatile debate would expand to target programs aiding the needy. As thousands of teachers, firefighters and other workers chanted and waved signs during weeks of Statehouse protests, some pastors and bishops lobbied lawmakers, spoke at rallies and wrote letters in favor of the public employees' right to collective bargaining.