Pope Benedict XVI has charged priests to give care and comfort to the sick.
He said Jesus, who was regarded as the divine physician, 'went about doing good and curing all those who had fallen into the power of the devil", according to Acts 10:38.
The message was issued on the occasion of the celebration of the 18th World Day of the Sick in the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, which was launched at the Apam Catholic Hospital on Friday.
The Day was instituted by the late Pope John Paul II on the 13th May 1992, to sensitize Christians on the need to pray and share the suffering of the sick for the love of mankind.
The theme of the message, which was read on behalf of the Pope by the Most Reverend Mathias Kobina Nketsiah, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, was: "the church in the service of love for the suffering".
Pope Benedict said caring for people suffering was regarded an important dogma of the Church.
He said Christ was sent by the Father to bring good news to the poor, to heal the contrite heart and to seek and to save what was lost.
Mr Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah, Gomoa, West District Chief Executive, cautioned nurses against turning away patients who were clients of the National Health Insurance Scheme because the scheme owed the health facility.
He said that: "Do whatever you can to relieve the patient of his or problems and don't use delay in reimbursing claims to deny them of your services".
Mr Aidoo-Mensah asked the public to avoid stigmatizing and discriminating against people with HIV/AIDS and said that "if we deny the sick empathy, we are not fit to be called children of God".
He said the assembly would support the hospitals in the area to give quality health care to the people.