Top US exorcist axed after warning ‘glowing orbs and shadow males’ UFOs are literally demons
Catholic priest and exorcist, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, was sacked by the Archdiocese of Washington after posting a video claiming many UFO sightings were “in fact, demons”
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti
A priest was sacked after senior Church leaders said he had gone too far by publicly claiming that many UFO sightings were actually demons.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a 74-year-old American Catholic priest, licensed clinical psychologist, and an expert on psychological and spiritual wellness, was removed as an exorcist by the Archdiocese of Washington, USA, after making the shocking claims in a video posted to his ministry’s social media on May 29.
Referencing Ephesians 6:12, which describes humanity’s battle against “spiritual forces of evil” in the Bible, Rossetti told Christians to stay alert and to “put on the armour of God”. He then leaned on his work as an exorcist to argue that demons and spirits can present themselves as strange figures.
This included “beast-like creatures”, unexplained glowing orbs and the so-called “shadow men”. The priest said on his St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal Facebook and YouTube accounts: “There’s no question in my mind, personally, again, this is not de fide, but it’s my personal belief that probably many, if not most, of these UFO sightings are, in fact, demons, and they can do things that we can’t do, such [as] the speed and all sorts of things that human beings can’t do.
“The reason why it’s important is that they will try to manipulate us.” In the video, Rossetti also described a case involving a woman who thought she was in contact with her dead grandmother via occult “automatic writing”, before he decided she had been misled by malevolent spirits, the Daily Mail reported.
He said: “There’s a danger here … as an exorcist, I wanted to raise that danger: and that is that demons like to hide, they don’t want us to know they’re around. They don’t want us to know what they’re doing because they’re more effective when we don’t realise it.
“And they can kind of get into your head … and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil.” Consequently, Cardinal Robert McElroy, the Archbishop of Washington, intervened, making clear that the Church treats claims involving the supernatural, and the ministry sometimes referred to as deliverance, with strict caution and discretion, rather than public spectacle, the New York Times reported.
McElroy further argued that Rossetti’s comments and the St Michael Center’s wider social media output “gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism”. Rossetti was consequently removed from his post, ending a tenure reported to span 19 years, and the Archdiocese severed all official links with the St Michael Center.
In the aftermath, Rossetti deleted the video, expressed sadness at the decision, apologised and said he would remain obedient to Church authority. He wrote: “I am saddened by the decision of the Archdiocese of Washington to cut its affiliation with St Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal (SMC).”
He added:“I ask 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’.” Rossetti concluded: “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.
“Also, I will continue to encourage all to do so as well.”
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