Monsignor Stephen Rossetti

Cardinal Robert McElroy has removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington after the priest suggested that many reported UFO sightings could be demonic manifestations. The archdiocese also ended its affiliation with the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal Cardinal Robert McElroy has removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington after the priest publicly suggested that many reported UFO sightings could be demonic manifestations. The Archdiocese of Washington announced that Cardinal McElroy had also ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal in Washington, D.C., which is directed by Monsignor Rossetti. In a statement released by the archdiocese, Cardinal McElroy said that comments made by the priest linking unidentified flying objects to demonic activity, together with the centre’s recent use of social media, “gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism”. The move follows remarks made by Monsignor Rossetti during a YouTube video published on 29 May in which he discussed reports of unidentified aerial phenomena. “Probably many, if not most, UFO sightings are in fact demons,” Monsignor Rossetti said. The priest, who has long been associated with exorcism ministry in the United States, added that he personally does not believe intelligent life exists on other planets and argued that some reported UFO encounters resembled experiences he had witnessed during exorcisms. According to Monsignor Rossetti, demons ordinarily remain hidden but can sometimes manifest themselves in unusual ways. He pointed to reports of shadowy figures, unexplained lights and mysterious orbs, claiming that such phenomena often mirrored accounts heard during deliverance ministry. He also recounted a case involving a woman who identified a photograph of a UFO as depicting a demonic presence. Monsignor Rossetti, 74, is a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse in New York and has spent much of his ministry working in the fields of psychology, priestly formation and spiritual renewal. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he served in Air Force intelligence before entering seminary and being ordained a priest in 1984. He later earned a doctorate in counselling psychology from Boston College and became one of the best-known American priests working at the intersection of psychology and Catholic pastoral ministry. From 1996 until 2009, he served as president and chief executive of Saint Luke Institute in Maryland, a treatment and education centre specialising in the psychological and spiritual wellbeing of clergy and religious. He subsequently joined the faculty of The Catholic University of America in Washington. The Archdiocese of Washington has not indicated whether a successor will be appointed to fulfil the role previously held by Monsignor Rossetti. The statement issued by Cardinal McElroy did not elaborate further on the decision beyond citing the priest’s remarks on UFOs and concerns about the centre’s social media activity. While Catholic teaching affirms the existence of the devil and permits the practice of exorcism under strict ecclesiastical regulation, the Church has generally urged caution regarding alleged supernatural phenomena and has not endorsed theories linking reports of UFOs to demonic manifestations.