Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, removed a high-profile exorcist on Wednesday, saying his recent statements on aliens and demons “gravely undermine” the church’s teachings.
The ousted clergyman, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, is an ordained priest and psychologist who also served as an exorcist for the archdiocese, a role that involves investigating claims of demonic possession. He leads the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, an institution in Washington that ministers to people “in need of healing and deliverance.”
The nature of potential extraterrestrial life has been debated this year, as President Trump directed his administration in February to begin releasing government files related to aliens and U.F.O.s. The disclosure began last month, with the Pentagon’s release of images, though their significance is so far unclear.
For some Christians, the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial beings poses theological challenges. Some Catholics and Protestants argue that they are better understood as demonic entities.
“I don’t think they’re aliens, I think they’re demons,” Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, said on a podcast this spring.
In a live interview on a YouTube show this week, Monsignor Rossetti said something similar. Although he acknowledged that a belief in extraterrestrial life was compatible with Catholic teaching, he speculated that “many if not most of these ‘U.F.O. sightings’ are in fact demons.”
“They can do things we can’t do,” he added, referring in particular to moving at speeds beyond human capabilities.
Cardinal McElroy, who was installed in the influential post of archbishop of Washington last year, evidently did not agree. He announced Wednesday that he had removed Monsignor Rossetti as an exorcist for the archdiocese and ended the affiliation between the archdiocese and the institution he heads.
“Statements made by Monsignor Rossetti linking U.F.O.s 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,” the archbishop said in a statement.
The archdiocese declined to provide details on which church teaching Monsignor Rossetti had undermined.
There is no formal church teaching on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, said Christopher Baglow, who heads the Science and Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life.
Monsignor Rossetti may have overstepped by “putting forward his own doctrine as something Catholics should accept,” Mr. Baglow said.
At a meeting with astronomy students at the Vatican last summer, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the “mysterious joy” that comes from studying the universe, and referred to the possibility of life developing outside our solar system.
“For the first time, we are able to peer deeply into the atmosphere of exoplanets where life may be developing and study the nebulae where planetary systems themselves are forming,” he said, referring to data and images from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Some official church exorcists operate without their identities as exorcists being public. But several, including Monsignor Rossetti, speak frequently about their experiences battling demons. He is the author of multiple books, including “Diary of an American Exorcist,” and last year he appeared on the American version of the Catholic documentary “Triumph Over Evil: Battle of the Exorcists.”
In his interview on YouTube this week, Monsignor Rossetti alluded to some disagreements among exorcists about the nature of extraterrestrials.
“One exorcist told me he thought that this person was possessed by aliens,” he said with a laugh. “Aliens — if there are aliens — don’t possess people, that’s nonsense: Again, it’s demons trying to hide and trying to manipulate and disguise themselves.”
Monsignor Rossetti said in a statement that he was “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,” he said, referring to Catholic authority and teachings. He also said the St. Michael Center will continue its work.
Monsignor Rossetti remains an associate professor of research in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, a school spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Ruth Graham is a national reporter, based in Dallas, covering religion, faith and values for The Times.
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