Vatican bank's ousted president comes out swinging

VATICAN CITY - The ousted president of the Vatican bank has come out swinging, accusing the bank's board of causing "grave damage" to the Holy See by firing him.

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi ended a nearly two-year silence with a statement Friday by his lawyers. It came after a Rome judge threw out a money-laundering case against him by ruling that he had nothing to do with daily operations of the Institute for Religious Works and was in fact working to bring the financial institution into line with international anti-money laundering standards.

Gotti Tedeschi and the bank's top manager were the focus of a 2010 money laundering investigation after a routine bank transaction involving a Vatican account at an Italian bank. Police seized 23 million euros ($31.5 million), though it was later ordered released.