Pope calls for end of fighting in Syria Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the midnight Christmas mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on December 24, 2012. UPI/Stefano Spazani Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to fighting in Syria and the leader of the Roman Catholic church in Jerusalem called Christmas the "birth" of Palestine. "I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced," Benedict said during his Christmas message, known as the Urbi et Orbi. Since an anti-government uprising in the country started in March 2011, about 45,000 people have died, the United Nations has estimated. "May peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims," the pope said. Midnight Mass in Vatican City was held two hours early at St. Peter's Square to avoid tiring the 85-year-old pope, the BBC reported. Also during the message, Benedict urged Christians to "find time and room for God in their fast-paced lives." In Bethlehem, Fouad Twal, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem, said Christmas "is also a celebration of ... the birth of the state of Palestine." Twal alluded to the U.N. recognition of the Palestinian Authority as an independent sovereign state, Arutz Sheva reported. In November, the United Nations passed a resolution granting Palestine the status of a non-member observer state, similar to that of the Vatican. The Jordanian-born Twal led Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square in Bethlehem, which is considered by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus. Meanwhile in Jerusalem, Santa handed out free Christmas trees to Christian residents and pilgrims, Ynetnews.com reported. The city, believed to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, hosted a number of other festive activities, including banquets, classical concerts and carol singing. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is also expected to take part in the celebrations. The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, used his sermon at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve to speak out against the British government's plan to legalize gay marriage, The Daily Telegraph reported. Nichols said the government's plan to allow gay marriage was made in defiance of public opinion. There was no announcement in any party manifesto, no Green Paper, no statement in the Queen's Speech. And yet here we are on the verge of primary legislation," he said. Nichols also accused the government of wrongly promoting homosexuality. Sometimes sexual expression can be without the public bond of the faithfulness of marriage and its ordering to new life. Even governments mistakenly promote such patterns of sexual intimacy as objectively to be approved and even encouraged among the young," he said.