PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Wall Street Journal

[court document]

By Tamara Audi

A landmark criminal conviction of a Roman Catholic monsignor imprisoned for his handling of sexual-abuse allegations was overturned Thursday by a Pennsylvania appeals court.

A three-judge Superior Court panel ordered the release of Msgr. William Lynn, the first U.S. Catholic official ever convicted of a criminal charge related to the alleged coverup of sexual abuse of minors by other priests.

Msgr. Lynn, who served in the Philadelphia Archdiocese as a top aide to its archbishop, could be released as early as this week, his lawyer said. He already has served 18 months of a three-to-six-year sentence after a Pennsylvania jury last year found him guilty of child endangerment for allowing a priest accused of sexual abuse to continue to have contact with children.

In overturning his conviction, the court said it “cannot dispute” that there “was more than…