where the population shifted to the suburbs. Krol campaigned for the canonization of Katharine Drexel, and was present at the canonization of his Czech-born predecessor in Philadelphia, Bishop John Neumann. He made a celebrated pilgrimage to Poland in 1972, and served as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1971 to 1974. On April 5, 1970, he led prayer services at the White House for President Richard Nixon and the Johnson and Bush families; in addition to Nixon the former President Lyndon B. Johnson and the future Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush were in attendance. In 1985, Krol baptized Polish United Workers' Party defector Romuald Spasowski. Later life and legacy Krol was hospitalized in 1987 for treatment of diverticulosis. Due to his ill health, he resigned as Archbishop of Philadelphia on February 11, 1988, exactly 27 years after he was appointed to the post. He was succeeded by Anthony Bevilacqua. Krol died at age 85 in Philadelphia, where he is buried in the crypt beneath the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Cardinal Krol was criticized for his role in the archidocese's sex abuse scandal some 10 years after his death. The Grand Jury stated that Krol knew that some priests under his command were molesting and raping young boys and girls but did nothing to prevent future crimes. A 2005 grand jury report cited evidence that both Cardinal Krol (Archbishop of Philadelphia 1961–1988) and his successor Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua (Archbishop of Philadelphia 1988–2003) had allowed dozens of sexually abusive priests to stay in holy orders by transferring them from parish to parish to avoid a scandal. E. Michael Jones published a biography of Krol in 1995 titled John Cardinal Krol and the Cultural Revolution. The book covers Krol's early life and his time as President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during the turbulent times of the 1970s. In order to give Jones sources for the book, Krol allowed Jones access to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia archives. Views Krol was widely considered to be a staunch conservative, even a "traditionalist". As described by The New York Times, he was "an outspoken defender of traditional theology, hierarchical authority and strict church discipline." The Philadelphia Inquirer recalled how Krol was "[ha]iled by conservatives as a defender of the church's heritage and criticized by liberals as an opponent of change." However, despite his conservative