Cardinal Robert McElroy has removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington and cut official ties with Rossetti’s St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal after the priest publicly suggested that many UFO sightings are actually demons in disguise.
The move, announced Wednesday, came days after Rossetti posted a short video last Friday warning that “demons like to hide” and asserting that “many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons.” Rossetti, a licensed psychologist and long-time deliverance minister, has a sizable online audience, and his comments quickly moved beyond internal church circles.
Archdiocese cites doctrinal concerns
In a written statement, Cardinal McElroy said the archdiocese had removed Rossetti “as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington” and ended all affiliation with the Saint Michael Center. He said that tying UFO sightings to demonic presence, combined with the center’s “recent use of social media,” “gravely undermine” Church teaching on the devil and exorcism. The cardinal framed the move as an effort to protect precise doctrine and limit public confusion, according to the Archdiocese of Washington.
What Rossetti said
Rossetti’s now-notorious video was brief but blunt. He told viewers “there’s a danger here,” warning that demons “can kind of get into your head” and “manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil.” Then he added his personal conclusion: “It’s my personal belief that probably many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons.” The comments and the archdiocese’s response were reported by The Associated Press.
Rossetti's response and the center's next steps
Rossetti answered the decision with a brief statement on the Saint Michael Center website, saying he was “saddened” by the archdiocese’s move and asking “forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium, particularly in the cited video on ‘aliens and the demonic.’” He stressed that obedience to the Church remains paramount and said the center “plans to continue its ministry elsewhere.”
His background in the church
Rossetti is a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse with advanced training in psychology and decades of work in priestly formation and clergy wellness. His curriculum vitae lists leadership roles at the St. Michael Center and the Saint Luke Institute along with years of media appearances and workshops, according to Catholic University.
Why this matters
The clash spotlights the tension between a high-profile cleric’s online influence and the Catholic Church’s effort to guard careful theological language around spiritual evil. It also lands amid renewed public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena, after the government released a batch of UAP files under the PURSUE initiative that broadened debate on what might be in the skies, as covered by Space.com. Church observers say dioceses are especially wary of parishioners blending internet spectacle with settled doctrine on sensitive topics like exorcism.
The archdiocese’s statement did not mention any additional canonical penalties beyond Rossetti’s removal as an exorcist and the end of its affiliation with his center, according to the Archdiocese of Washington. Rossetti has told supporters that he remains obedient to Church authority and that the Saint Michael Center intends to continue its deliverance and formation work outside the archdiocese for now.
