One of America’s most famous Catholic exorcists, Stephen Rossetti, has lost his official position after he publicly stated that several reports of UFOs may not be related to aliens, but to demonic forces. The priest, psychologist and longtime exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington presented his views in a video released by the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal.
In it, he warned Christians against what he described as a hidden spiritual danger associated with the UFO phenomenon. Rossetti stated that during his practice as an exorcist recorded cases of demons and spiritual beings allegedly manifesting as unusual entities, including animal-like creatures, mysterious glowing orbs, or so-called shadow figures.
“I personally have no doubt about it, and I stress again that this is not a binding teaching of faith, but my personal opinion that probably many if not most UFO sightings are actually demons. They can do things that we can’t, like move at speeds and in ways that humans can’t. It’s important to talk about this because they will try to manipulate us.” he declared in the video.
It was these statements that provoked a sharp reaction from the church leadership. Cardinal Robert McElroy subsequently removed Rossetti from the position of exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington. At the same time, the Archdiocese terminated cooperation with his center and publicly rejected his statements. According to the archdiocese’s position, Rossetti’s claims, which “associate UFOs with a demonic presence,” seriously violate the Catholic Church’s accurate teaching on the devil, demons, and exorcism.
“I ask forgiveness for all the ways in which I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church Magisterium, especially in the aforementioned video about aliens and demonic influence,” wrote Rossetti. Nevertheless, he did not retract his opinion that some UFO sightings may be of demonic origin.
