Archbishop removes exorcist priest over ‘demonic’ UFO comments

The exorcist of nearly 20 years issued his own statement, noting he is “saddened” by the archdiocese’s decision

Published Jun 04, 2026  •  2 minute read

Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a Catholic priest who was removed as an exorcist over controversial comments linking UFOs to demonic work. Photo by St. Michael Center For Spiritual Renewal /YouTube

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A Catholic archbishop was compelled to expel a prominent exorcist following public comments he made linking UFOs to the work of demons.

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Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, N.Y., was removed “as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington,” Cardinal Robert McElroy said in a statement on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s website.

It also noted that “all affiliation between the archdiocese and the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal located in Washington, D.C.” has also come to an end.

McElroy noted statements made by Rossetti “linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center’s recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.”

What did the priest say?

In a May 29 video shared on his Facebook page and on YouTube, Rossetti said he believes that “many, if not most of these UFO sightings are, in fact, demons,” adding that such entities “can do things that we canʼt do, such [as] the speed and all sorts of things that human beings canʼt do.”

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He explained in the footage: “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 what they’re doing because they’re more effective when we don’t realize it.”

He added: “They can kind of get into your head, you know, and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil.”

The video that prompted Rossetti’s dismissal has since been scrubbed from social media pages.

US cardinal Robert Walter McElroy attends a press conference of US cardinals, a day after the new pope’s election, at the North American College in Rome on May 9, 2025. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images) Photo by Alberto Pizzoli/AFP /Getty Images

Priest weighs in on dismissal

The exorcist of nearly 20 years issued his own statement on the St. Michael’s Center website, noting he is “saddened” by the archdiocese’s decision.

“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,’” he continued.

“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.”

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Rossetti added: “I am grateful for 19 years of ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington as its exorcist and I thank the Archdiocese for its support and blessing all these years.”

The St. Michael Center “conducts spiritual education workshops and trains clergy, religious, and laity,” led by Rossetti, according to its site, as well as “prays with people who are spiritually suffering and in need of healing and deliverance.”

He noted that the Catholic nonprofit “plans to continue its ministry elsewhere.”

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