Pope Francis visited a Baghdad cathedral that is now a shrine to 48 Christian martyrs who died Oct. 31, 2010, when militants belonging to a group linked to al-Qaida laid siege to the church.

Francis’ plane touched down at Baghdad’s airport just before 2 p.m. local time. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on hand to greet him.

“There’s no moral need to turn down a vaccine, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is morally acceptable to use,” Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, said in a new video.

Pope Francis has named Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the office that advises the pope on the nomination of bishops around the world.

“As with every administration, there will be areas where we agree and work closely together and areas where we will have principled disagreement and strong opposition,” Archbishop Gomez said.

The archdiocese insists the decision is informed by guidance from the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, although those institutions have not yet issued statements discouraging use of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.