Monsignor Stephen Rossetti Removed as Exorcist After Claiming Most UFOs Are 'Demons'

The Archdiocese of Washington recently made a sudden leadership change that has sent shockwaves through the American Catholic community. A high-profile religious official was abruptly stripped of his specialised duties after making highly controversial public remarks regarding unexplained aerial phenomena.

The sudden departure has left both parishioners and observers questioning where the line is drawn between traditional faith and rogue theories.

The Swift Dismissal From Exorcism Ministry

In a swift disciplinary move, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy stripped a Washington priest of his duties in the exorcism ministry, pointing to problematic online posts from the cleric 'linking UFOs to demonic presence.'

In his 3 June statement, Cardinal McElroy announced that Syracuse priest Monsignor Stephen Rossetti has lost his authorisation to conduct exorcisms for the Washington archdiocese, effective immediately.

The fallout deepened as Cardinal McElroy severed all institutional ties, completely blacklisting the Washington, D.C.-based Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal from any future involvement with the archdiocese.

The cardinal made it clear that the Church's ancient doctrines are not up for debate, stating that the priest's bizarre cosmic theories and the St. Michael Center's 'recent use of social media' both 'gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.'

When pressed for details, the Archdiocese of Washington clammed up, refusing to expand on the firing. Meanwhile, breaking the silence on 3 June, Bishop Douglas J. Lucia stated that the Syracuse diocese is completely in the dark with no further information, adding defensively that the monsignor remains a priest in good standing.

Sacked Priest Responds and Pleads Forgiveness

Taking to the center's website on 3 June to address the sudden fallout, Msgr. Rossetti did not hide his heartbreak, telling followers in an online post that he was 'saddened by the decision of the Archdiocese of Washington.'

Confronting the viral Facebook clip from 29 May where he openly questioned the nature of aliens and confessed his personal conviction that they are evil spirits, Msgr. Rossetti offered a humble plea in his 3 June message, writing, 'I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church's Magisterium.'

'I believe it is of the utmost importance to be obedient to the Church and I will continue to endeavor to subject all that I do and the Center to be thus obedient,' he said in his response.

'I will continue to encourage all to do so as well,' the priest said. Referring to a symbol of unity with the Catholic Church, he added, 'As I often say: "Stay in the Boat!," that is, stay in the barque of Peter, it will lead you safely home.'

He added that he was 'grateful for 19 years of ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington as its exorcist," and he thanked the archdiocese "for its support and blessing all these years.'

Refusing to let the bitter dismissal halt their mission, Msgr. Rossetti vowed that the St. Michael Center would pray for Cardinal McElroy and the archdiocese, while defiantly preparing 'to continue its ministry elsewhere.'

The Controversial Social Media Broadcast

While Rossetti's rare credentials as both a collar-wearing priest and a licensed psychologist have filled the pages of his multiple books on demonic warfare, his bold public platform ultimately triggered his downfall. During a broadcast streamed live across YouTube and Facebook this week, he went off-script to lecture viewers on the hidden spiritual threats of unexplained aerial phenomena, before spinning his theory on their dark, hellish origins.

'As an exorcist I wanted to raise that danger. And that is that demons like to hide,' he said, as quoted by The Associated Press. 'They don't want us to know what they're doing because they're more effective when we don't realize it.'

'It's my personal belief,' he added, 'that probably many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons.'

Crossing the Line on Official Church Doctrine

What once seemed like a wild fringe theory is rapidly gaining traction among believers, with Rossetti's cosmic-demon convictions echoing a growing sentiment across the wider Christian landscape.

Officially, the Vatican maintains a blank slate on the existence of extraterrestrials, according to Christopher Baglow, director of the Science and Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life. However, Rossetti crossed a dangerous theological line by 'putting forward his own doctrine as something Catholics should accept,' Baglow told the NYT.