Last year, Monsignor William Lynn, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's secretary for clergy, was convicted of reassigning a priest whom he knew had molested a young boy to a parish that had a school attached to it.  That priest, William Avery, later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an altar boy at his new parish.  To prosecutors' minds, that was child endangerment--and a jury agreed, sentencing Lynn to three to six years in prison.  Yesterday, an appeals court threw out Lynn's conviction, saying that the law under which he was convicted didn't apply to him at the time.

In their 43-page ruling, the judges - John T. Bender, Christine L. Donahue and John L. Musmanno - sided with Lynn's attorneys, who argued that the child-endangerment law that was on the books in the state when Avery held his position only applied to people who had direct supervision of children, like parents and other caregivers.

The law was changed and broadened in 2007 to include employers whose employees end up harming children.

"I'm happy. This is very rewarding," Thomas Bergstrom, one of Lynn's attorneys, said yesterday.

"This was a labor of love. We fought long and hard, so it's nice to know that you were right."

Bergstrom said he hopes that Lynn will be released from a state prison in Wayne County in the next few days.

Prosecutors were not so pleased.

"I am disappointed and strongly disagree with the court's decision," District Attorney Seth Williams said in