Pope's Christmas plea for Christians in China and peace in Syria Earlier the traditional midnight mass at St Peter's Basilica was brought forward by two hours to avoid the 85-year-old pontiff being unduly tired. Turning to the bloodshed in Syria, he said: 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. He issued specific calls for an end to fighting, easier access aid and talks aimed at a political solution to the conflict. For the first time, he singled out the growing Church in China in his Christmas address and offered greetings to the new leadership under Xi Jinping. "May the King of Peace turn his gaze to the new leaders of the People's Republic of China for the high task which awaits them," he said. I express my hope that, in fulfilling this task, they will esteem the contribution of the religions, in respect for each, in such a way that they can help to build a fraternal society for the benefit of that noble People and of the whole world. It comes after a year which has seen a marked deterioration in relations between the Vatican and Beijing, centred on the treatment of a Bishop who spoke out over state interference in the church. Earlier this month Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, the auxiliary bishop in Shanghai, who has been under house arrest since the summer, was effectively stripped of his title by the regime.