VATICAN CITY (AP) — The retired Vatican ambassador who convulsed the Holy See with accusations of sex abuse cover-up is offering his side of the story in a different scandal: a family fight over a multi-million dollar € inheritance.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano is trying to explain an Italian court ruling requiring him to pay his brother, who also is a priest, 1.8 million euros. The court's decision generated headlines given Vigano's unprecedented call for Pope Francis to resign over alleged failures in addressing clergy sex abuse.

In a statement Monday, Vigano said his brother had sought 40 million euros in the civil case and subjected him for years to a "judicial siege and a veritable defamation campaign."

Vigano has long painted himself as a champion of transparency battling corruption in the Catholic Church.