I think the English spelling is far preferable, since at least in print it is much clearer that paedophile means lover of children rather than lover of feet.

I agree wholeheartedly. Indeed, whenever I'm feeling particularly pretentious, I make a point of spelling it pædiatrician I'm not even sure that the æ belongs in the word, but it's fun using it, anyway. My "podophile" was also influenced by the way chiropodists (at least here in NZ) adopted "podiatriast" as the name of their profession. I think that a major reason was a desire to avoid being confused with chiropractors.