Staff Reports
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti — a priest known for fighting evil and counseling priests — has been removed from his post as an exorcist in the Archdiocese of Washington after he suggested that some UFO sightings might be demonic. Cardinal Robert McElroy announced the move and cut ties between the archdiocese and Rossetti’s St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal. If nothing else, the episode shows how quickly a priest can be neutered in the social-media age for saying something that makes church elites uncomfortable.
The video that triggered the purge
Rossetti posted a short video warning that “demons like to hide” and that many UFO sightings could plausibly be demonic in origin. He presented it as his personal opinion, not official doctrine, and later asked forgiveness for anything that strayed from Church teaching. The Archdiocese of Washington replied that those comments, along with the Center’s social-media activity, “gravely undermine” the Church’s precise teaching on demons and exorcism — and that was enough for Cardinal Robert McElroy to strip him of the exorcist role. In plain English: one Twitter-ready clip, and a long career in deliverance ministry is sidelined.
Who’s who and the power at play
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti is no fringe figure. He’s a licensed psychologist, a professor, long-time deliverance minister, and a familiar face around Washington. Cardinal Robert McElroy, meanwhile, is known for a more progressive, pastoral approach to heavy cultural issues. Canon law does give bishops authority over exorcism appointments, so McElroy had the power to act. But authority and prudence are not the same thing. The archdiocese hasn’t laid out which other social-media posts it found objectionable, leaving this looking less like careful discipline and more like opaque censorship.
Why this matters beyond gossip about aliens
This is about more than UFOs or a priest’s curiosity. It’s about how the Church handles ministers who speak plainly about spiritual warfare in a world obsessed with spectacle. Exorcism and deliverance ministries were meant to be conducted with discipline, yes — but also with courage. The modern reflex to tidy away anything that embarrasses a diocese risks cutting off faithful Catholics who rely on experienced ministers for help. If bishops want obedience, they should also offer transparency and clear guidance, not a public shrug and a pull of the plug.
What should happen next
The archdiocese owes Catholics a clearer explanation of what specific social-media practices crossed the line, and Rossetti’s own diocese should say whether it plans to respond. The Church must protect sound doctrine, but it also needs to avoid the optics of canceling a man who’s spent decades confronting evil because his take on a modern mystery made a few colleagues squirm. If the Church can’t tolerate a measured conversation about strange phenomena and spiritual truth, it will keep losing credibility with the very people who look to it for answers — not just for sermons, but for spiritual protection.
