Bush backs embattled Catholic hierarchy as pedophilia crisis grows. (People and Events).

Officials of the Roman Catholic Church are under fire for covering up a child sexual-abuse scandal, but don't look for President George W. Bush to add to the criticism.

Asked about the matter during a March 13 press conference at the White House, Bush expressed support for the hierarchy and Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, who is accused of reassigning a priest who eventually pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting more than 130 children over 30 years.

A reporter, noting the "growing crisis in the Catholic Church," asked Bush if he thought the church had acted "swiftly enough to deal with the issue of pedophilia among the ranks of priests."

Bush replied, "Well, I know many in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. I know them to be men of integrity and decency. They're honorable people. I was just with Cardinal Egan today. And I'm confident the church will clean up its business and do the right thing. As to the timing, I haven't, frankly -- I'm not exactly aware of the -- how fast or how not fast they're moving. I just can tell you I trust the leadership of the church."

The reporter followed up by asking Bush if Law should resign, noting that Bush knows Law personally.

"That's up to the church," Bush replied. "I know Cardinal Law to be a man of integrity. I respect him a lot."

Law, Egan and other conservative Catholic prelates tried to marshal support for Bush among the Catholic faithful during the 2000 election. The Boston prelate, for example, wrote a column in the diocesan newspaper blasting Democrat Al Gore for his "pro-abortion position" and noting that Bush has "pro-life convictions." (See "Biased Blessing," December 2000 Church & State.)

Law's help apparently didn't go unnoticed. The White House scheduled a meeting between Bush and him on Feb. 5, 2001, just a few short weeks after Bush was sworn in as president.

Bush, since then, has aggressively courted Roman Catholic leaders, aware that they can influence the potentially crucial swing vote in national elections. He has focused most of his efforts on the church hierarchy, even though many rank-and-file Catholics disagree with the bishops on many issues.

A large number of Catholics have also expressed disgust with Law's behavior during the pedophilia scandal and have clamored for his resignation. Earlier this year, documents that had been sealed under court order were released, proving that when Law and other top officials at the Boston Archdiocese learned that the Rev. John Geoghan had been accused of sexually abusing children, they reassigned him to different parishes rather than dismiss him and turn him over to the legal system.

Geoghan was convicted of child molestation and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence. The Boston Archdiocese has agreed to pay $45 million to settle claims from his victims.

Law's complicity might never have come to light were it not for some aggressive reporters in Boston. Attorneys with the Boston Globe won court orders opening up records related to the case that the church had wanted to keep sealed. The Globe, following up on stories that first appeared in an alternative paper, the Boston Phoenix, eventually won access to four year's worth of sealed documents. Their contents were explosive.

Since then, a second shocking case has unfolded involving the Rev. Paul Shanley, a priest Law allegedly moved from parish to parish despite allegations of misconduct and reports that Shanley had publicly spoken on behalf of sex between men and boys.

Other newspapers are looking into allegations of similar conduct by priests and cover-ups by bishops in other cities. Several cases have been uncovered.

Several commentators have accused church leaders of duplicity and demanded Law's resignation. He has refused to step down.

A March 28 editorial in the Montreal Gazette is typical.

"If the Roman Catholic Church were serious about dealing with the sexual abuse of children by priests, Law would no longer be archbishop" it asserted. "For his complicity in allowing Geoghan to continue to molest children, he would have been forced to resign. As would Cardinal Edward Egan, leader of the New York archdiocese. When Egan was bishop of the Bridgeport, Conn., diocese, he did not tell the criminal justice system about abusive priests in his jurisdiction, thereby allowing them to continue in the church for years."

Continued the editorial, "In what other field would the top officials still be in place after their acceptance of criminal activity had been splashed all over the front pages of newspapers throughout the entire world? Even Enron's Kenneth Lay -- as obdurate a corporate leader as they come -- was forced to resign."

Church leaders, meanwhile, have continued to place the blame for the scandal on factors outside the church. On March 22 Pope John Paul II released a letter pledging the church's support for justice for the victims and calling the "grave scandal" a manifestation of supernatural evil.

At a Vatican news conference unveiling the letter, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos asserted, "Concerning the problem of sexual abuse and cases of pedophilia, I have only one answer. In today's culture of pansexualism and libertinism created in this world, several priests, being of this culture, have committed the most serious crime of sexual abuse."

Some survivors of abuse were not pleased with the papal missive. "What everyone has learned beyond a doubt in the last few months is that despite a decade of promises and reassurances, bishops still do in fact reassign these men and cover for them.... But there was nothing in the pope's statement about the action or inactions of bishops that could prevent future abuse," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a 3,500-member group of victims.

In other news:

* U.S. ambassador to the Vatican James Nicholson is working to expand the visibility of his post, the National Catholic Reporter says. Traditionally viewed as a low-energy sinecure, the job under Nicholson is being transformed. According to the paper, Nicholson, former head of the Republican National Committee, "seems on track to be the most powerful ambassador to the pope in U.S. history."

The paper said Nicholson has been able to make the slot more high profile because Bush sees official U.S.-Vatican ties as a way to secure the Catholic vote in 2004.

"No president in recent American history has taken such a strong interest in the `Catholic vote' as Bush," said the paper. "Advisers believe that in several swing states, socially conservative Catholic voters hold the key to reelection in 2004. Hence, Bush has reached out to the American bishops, and in July 2001 he went to Castel Gandolfo to meet with the pope."