ROME, December 25 (RIA Novosti) - Pope Benedict XVI delivered his Christmas message and blessing on Thursday, calling among other things for an end to the violence in Syria.

Addressing the thousands gathered on Saint Peter's Square and millions of Catholics watching and listening to the speech on TV and radio, the 85-year-old Pontiff said people should never give up hope for peace.

“May peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenceless and reaps innocent victims,” the Pontiff said in his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the City of Rome and to the World) speech.

“Once again I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict,” he said.

The Pope also mentioned the constitutional crisis in Egypt and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also condemned terrorist attacks in Mali, Nigeria and Kenya, violence in DR Congo and expressed his support for migrants from Latin American states.

Summing up his speech, he said: “may every land become a good earth which receives and brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace.”