Pope calls for end to violence in Syria

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI implored the Syrian regime yesterday to heed international demands to end the bloodshed and expressed hope that the joy of Easter would comfort Christian communities suffering because of their faith.

Benedict, struggling with hoarseness and looking tired, celebrated Mass on Christianity's most joyous holy day on the flower-adorned steps of St. Peter's Basilica, before a crowd that swelled to far over 100,000.

Only hours earlier the pontiff, who turns 85 on April 16, had led a long nighttime vigil in the church. There have been concerns over his health, and he has recently used a cane. He no longer walks down the basilica's long aisle, using instead a wheeled platform pushed by aides.

At the end of Sunday's Mass, Benedict moved to the basilica's central balcony to read his Easter message "to the entire world," as he put it, delivering a ringing appeal for peace in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, and in Africa, citing coup-struck Mali and Nigeria, where Christians and Muslims alike have been hit by terrorist attacks.

"Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation, as called for by the international community," Benedict said, making Syria the first of several strife-torn countries he mentioned in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and to the world") Easter speech.