Thousands showed up. "I guess by now I should know better than to sell the commitment of pro-lifers short. I've never been so happy to be wrong!" said the walk's co-chair Eva Muntean.

Indian Jesuit Father Stan Swamy marked 100 days in prison with a letter highlighting the cases of poor people languishing in jail who begin their trials without even knowing their criminal charges.

King said she was raised in a faith-filled, Christian home, but unexpected pregnancy and abortion were not topics of discussion. Absorbing the news, trying to find a solution, the women turned to the phone book. King recalls many entries under "pregnancy" offering abortion services and clinics -- but not much else.

"Why don't you form a government when the people are crying out from pain, starving from poverty and dying from disease?" Cardinal Rai, Maronite patriarch, asked, posing more than a dozen questions to the officials. He underscored Lebanon's dire situation in his homily Jan. 24 at Bkerke, the patriarchal seat north of Beirut.