PHILADELPHIA—Attorneys for a Roman Catholic church convicted of child endangerment are asking a judge to release him on house arrest.

Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty by a jury Friday in a landmark clergy-abuse trial, making him the first U.S. church official branded a felon for covering up abuse claims.

His lawyers filed a motion Monday asking to have him released from prison pending his sentencing Aug. 13.

Prosecutors say Lynn helped the archdiocese keep predators in ministry, and the public in the dark, by telling parishes their priests were being removed for health reasons and then sending the men to unsuspecting churches.