The Catholic Church in Washington has severed ties with a leading exorcist following his controversial video about UFOs and evil spirits.
Prominent American exorcist Stephen Rossetti / © Daily Star
Washington’s chief exorcist, Stephen Rossetti, has been removed from his duties after making sensational statements. The priest suggested that most UFO sightings are actually the work of demons seeking to manipulate humanity.
This is reported by the Daily Star.
Rossetti, a 74-year-old American Catholic priest, certified clinical psychologist, and specialist in psychological and spiritual health, has been dismissed from his role as exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington in the USA. The reason for this decision was his controversial remarks in a video message on May 29, posted on his ministry’s social media pages.
What did the exorcist say about demons and UFOs?
Citing a passage from Ephesians 6:12, which speaks of humanity’s struggle against “spiritual forces of evil,” Rossetti urged believers to be vigilant and “put on the armor of God.” Then, based on his own experience conducting exorcisms, he expressed the opinion that demons and spirits are capable of taking the form of unusual creatures.
According to the priest, such manifestations can include “beast-like entities,” mysterious balls of light, and so-called “shadow people.”
“Personally, I have no doubt—again, this is not a dogma of faith, but merely my personal conviction—that probably, many, if not most, UFO sightings are actually demons, and they can do things we can’t, like move at such speeds and do many other things that are beyond human capability. The reason this is important is that they will try to manipulate us,” Rossetti stated on the pages of the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal on Facebook and YouTube.
In the same video, he recounted the story of a woman who was convinced she was communicating with her deceased grandmother through the occult practice of “automatic writing.” The priest later concluded that she was being deceived by evil spirits.
“There is a danger here… As an exorcist, I wanted to draw attention to this danger: demons like to hide, they don’t want us to know they are around. They don’t want us to know what exactly they are doing, because they are more effective when we are not aware of it. And they can, to some extent, penetrate your consciousness… and manipulate events in the world to lead us to evil,” Rossetti expressed.
The Catholic Church’s reaction to the exorcist’s statements
Following this, the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy, intervened in the situation. He emphasized that the Catholic Church traditionally approaches statements about supernatural phenomena and practices known as “deliverance ministries” with the utmost caution and restraint, rather than turning them into a public spectacle.
McElroy also stated that Rossetti’s statements and, in general, the content of the St. Michael Center on social media “seriously undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons, and exorcism.”
After this, Rossetti was removed from his post, concluding his service, which, according to available data, lasted 19 years. The Archdiocese also terminated all official relations with the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal.
Exorcist apologized for his statements about demons and UFOs
Later, the priest removed the video, expressed disappointment with the decision, apologized, and pledged to adhere to church discipline in the future.
“I am saddened by the Archdiocese of Washington’s decision to cease its collaboration with the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal. I ask for forgiveness for any instances where I have not been faithful to the teaching of the Church’s Magisterium, especially in the aforementioned video about ‘aliens and the demonic.’ I consider it extremely important to be obedient to the Church and will continue to strive to ensure that everything I do, as well as the activities of the Center, remains within the bounds of this obedience,” Rossetti stated.
Incidentally, in May, the US National Security Agency declassified 334 pages of Cold War-era reports on UFOs, obtained by the “Disclosure Project” after 40 years of legal battles. The documents record dozens of incidents where military fighter jets, including Soviet MiGs, pursued unknown objects of various shapes that demonstrated anomalous speed and maneuverability.
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