By SCM Online Reporter
WASHINGTON — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has quietly stripped one of its most prominent and public-facing exorcist of his official duties.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a high-profile priest who has spent years chronicling his battles with spiritual darkness, was dismissed from his post following a series of public assertions claiming that many Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs)—commonly known as UFOs—are not visitors from other planets, but rather manifestations of demonic activity.
The dismissal, first reported by The Guardian, highlights a sharp theological and public relations boundary for the Catholic Church.
While the Vatican has grown increasingly open to discussing the mathematical probability of extraterrestrial life, it has drawn a firm line against blending mainstream demonology with pop-culture paranormal theories.
Monsignor Rossetti, who also serves as a research associate professor at the Catholic University of America, has frequently used blogs, books, and interviews to demystify the ancient rite of exorcism.
However, his recent commentary ventured into territory that church officials deemed overly speculative and pastorally damaging.
In public statements, Rossetti argued that the surge in military and civilian reports of UFOs aligns closely with what the Church classifies as preternatural deception.
He suggested that the entities piloting or manifesting as these craft exhibit behaviors identical to demonic spirits: high-level manipulation, psychological torment of “abductees,” and a desire to steer humanity away from traditional faith.
For the Archdiocese, the public conflation of standard Church deliverance ministry with ufology proved to be a bridge too far. In a brief statement, church officials confirmed that Rossetti’s faculty to perform major exorcisms had been revoked, emphasizing the need for exorcists to adhere strictly to the liturgical and psychological guidelines established by the Holy See.
To understand the friction behind Rossetti’s ouster, it is necessary to look at how the Catholic Church modernizes its approach to the unexplained.
Contrary to popular belief, modern Catholic exorcism is heavily gatekept by science. Under the revised De Exorcismis et Quibusdam Supplicationibus (the official rite updated in 1999), an exorcist is strictly required to rule out psychiatric, medical, and neurological conditions before performing a major rite. Church-appointed exorcists routinely consult with teams of secular psychologists and physicians.
By introducing UFOs into the equation, critics argue Rossetti bypassed this rigorous skepticism, trading clinical discernment for fringe conspiracy.
Furthermore, Rossetti’s theories run counter to the Vatican’s surprisingly progressive stance on astrobiology.
For over a decade, the Vatican Observatory—led by Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno—has maintained that the existence of intelligent alien life would not contradict Christian theology.
Vatican theologians have argued that if extraterrestrial intelligent beings exist, they would simply be another part of God’s creation, famously noting that they would welcome “an alien brother” for baptism if asked.
By declaring these potential entities inherently evil and demonic, Rossetti was not just speaking out of turn; he was actively contradicting an ongoing, sophisticated intellectual effort by Rome to harmonize modern astrophysics with Catholic dogma.
Rossetti’s views are not entirely unique, reflecting a growing subculture within both conservative Catholicism and evangelical fringes that views the modern UFO disclosure movement with deep suspicion.
As the U.S. government has institutionalized the study of UAPs through specialized pentagon task forces, a parallel theological anxiety has emerged, viewing these aerial anomalies as signs of end-times deception.
For Monsignor Rossetti, who remains a priest in good standing despite losing his exorcist title, the dismissal marks a sudden cooling of a highly public career.
For the Church, it serves as a stark reminder to its clergy: in an era of rapid scientific disclosure and internet-fueled paranoia, the Vatican prefers to keep its ancient battles with the devil strictly grounded.
