Washington's Catholic archbishop has removed a prominent priest from his exorcism duties and severed the church's relationship with his spiritual healing center, citing public statements that linked UFO sightings to demonic activity.
Cardinal Robert McElroy announced the action against Monsignor Stephen Rossetti on Wednesday, saying his remarks and the center's social media posts "gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism."
In a May 29 video posted to Facebook, Rossetti laid out his theory that demons deliberately conceal their actions to maximize their influence over human behavior. He suggested that "probably many if not most" reported UFO sightings could actually be demonic deception rather than encounters with extraterrestrial life.
"They can kind of get into your head, you know, and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil," Rossetti said in the video, explaining that his concern stemmed from his work as an exorcist.
The priest did acknowledge that Catholics can hold personal beliefs about life on other planets, though he stated he does not believe life exists beyond Earth.
Rossetti responded to the archdiocese's decision with a statement posted on the website of the St Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, the Washington-based nonprofit he leads. He apologized for failing to adhere strictly to church teaching, particularly regarding the video on "aliens and the demonic," and pledged renewed commitment to obedience to Catholic doctrine.
Rossetti has built a substantial following on social media, with more than 148,000 Instagram followers. Beyond his exorcism work, he is a trained psychologist whose center has focused on providing spiritual support to priests facing personal and professional crises.
The priest's public profile on matters of spiritual warfare has grown in recent years. As recently as 2023, he told the Associated Press that interest in demonic possession and exorcism was intensifying, reflecting what he described as a renewed appetite for information on these topics.
Author James Rodriguez: "A priest's expertise in psychology doesn't translate to expertise in astrophysics or theological speculation, and the church was right to draw that line."
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