VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — A senior Vatican ceremonies official was removed from his post after an Italian blog published an ambiguous audio excerpt in which the priest allegedly called some Vatican clergymen “faggots.”

On January 1, Monsignor Marco Agostini, an Italian priest who had served for more than 16 years as a pontifical master of ceremonies, was removed from his role in Vatican City following the publication by the Italian blog Silere Non Possum of an audio clip, extracted from a Vatican News video, in which a whispered phrase attributed to Agostini was presented as referring to cardinals. No official explanation for his removal has been issued by the Holy See.

The phrase “[Sono] culattoni, tutti insieme” (“they are faggots, all together”) can be heard toward the end of the contested clip, allegedly referring to cardinals present at the ceremony.

The controversy originated with an article published by Silere Non Possum. The article embedded a short audio excerpt taken from a publicly available Vatican News video of a liturgical celebration. In the clip, an indistinct voice is heard near an open microphone, uttering disparaging remarks about someone’s homosexuality, although it is not clear whether the comment was in fact directed at the cardinals present.

The audio was not accompanied by technical verification, contextual clarification, or independent confirmation of the identity of the speaker. The video itself, produced and broadcast by Vatican News, did not identify the source of the whispered words, nor did it provide visual evidence linking the phrase to Agostini. Nevertheless, the blog article explicitly associated the uttering of the words with him.

Shortly after the circulation of the article, the original Vatican News video on YouTube was edited. The initial segment containing the ambient audio was apparently removed, and the video now begins directly with the liturgical formula “Surgant omnes,” pronounced aloud by Agostini at the Pope’s entrance.

Vatican dismissals of this kind are typically handled without public statements, but the timing of the decision drew attention among Vatican watchers. InfoVaticana raised the possibility that the removal was linked to the publication of the audio clip, while noting that no formal connection has been confirmed by Vatican authorities.

Marco Felipe Perfetti, founder and owner of the Italian blog Silere Non Possum, has previously published content addressing homosexuality in the Catholic Church. For example, in an episode of his podcast Pensieri e Parole titled “Chiesa e omosessualità” (“Church and homosexuality”) released on April 27, 2022, Perfetti stated that he regretted that the Church’s position on homosexuality had “unfortunately” not changed under Pope Francis.

Agostini has not released public statements in response to the accusations or to his removal until today. Furthermore, according to a source LifeSiteNews consulted on the matter who is very close to the Vatican, there are serious doubts as to whether the voice in the recording actually belongs to Agostini.

“Agostini comes from the Secretariat of State, where he still holds a position. His dismissal as Master of Ceremonies, however, coincides with the natural expiration of the latest in a series of five‑year mandates, which had already taken place in October or November 2025. It is therefore difficult to see a necessary connection between the audio clip and the termination of his liturgical service,” the internal source stated.

Agostini was ordained a priest in Italy and spent his adult life in ecclesiastical service. On June 13, 2009, during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, he was appointed Pontifical Master of Ceremonies, a role that placed him at the centre of papal liturgies and official celebrations. In that capacity, he served under Popes Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV, overseeing canonizations, consistories, apostolic journeys, and major liturgical events.

Throughout his tenure, Agostini remained largely unknown to the general public and was regarded within Vatican circles as a discreet and technically reliable official. His continued service across three pontificates has been cited by observers as evidence of institutional confidence in his work.

In recent years, Agostini became known among certain Catholic circles for celebrating Mass according to the traditional Roman rite, including in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, and for participating in events associated with traditional liturgical practice, as for example in Covadonga, Spain. Agostini has always celebrated in the Vatican with the explicit permission of Pope Francis.