Washington archbishop removes priest as exorcist after comments on UFOs and demons
McElroy said Rossetti’s comments on UFOs and demons undermined Church teaching, and the archdiocese cut ties with his Washington-based center.
- On Wednesday, Cardinal Robert McElroy removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as an exorcist and severed the archdiocese's ties with the Washington-based Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal.
- The removal followed a May 29 video where Rossetti claimed that "many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons," warning that demons manipulate people and world events.
- McElroy stated that linking UFOs to demonic presence and the center's social media use "gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching" on exorcism and demons.
- In a statement on Thursday, June 4, Rossetti expressed sadness and asked forgiveness for failing to be faithful to Church teaching, particularly in his video on "aliens and the demonic."
- Rossetti, a prominent psychologist with over 148,000 followers on Instagram, previously told The Associated Press there was renewed appetite for information about demonic possession and exorcism.
43 Articles
43 Articles
The Catholic Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy, today dismissed a well-known priest as exorcist of the archdiocese after he made public comments suggesting that UFO sightings were the work of the devil. McElroy stated that the archdiocese also broke any link with the San Miguel Center for Spiritual Renewal, the Washington-based non-profit organization headed by the priest, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti.
Cardinal Robert McElroy has dismissed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington after Rossetti publicly stated that many UFO sightings could be related to demonic activity. The decision, announced on June 3 by the archdiocese itself, ends nearly two decades of Rossetti's ministry in the nation's capital. According to an official statement released by the Archdiocese of Washington, McElroy has also severed all insti…
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