Archdiocese of Washington Removes Prominent Exorcist Over Remarks Linking UFOs to Demonic Activity

[aussie_aussie_oi_oi]

Washington Archbishop Cardinal Robert McElroy on June 3 removed a prominent priest from his role as an archdiocesan exorcist after the priest made remarks linking UFOs to demonic activity. Monsignor Stephen Rossetti was “removed ... as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington,” McElroy said in a statement posted to the archdioceseʼs website. Rossetti is a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, the statement noted.

In addition to Msgr. Rossettiʼs removal, Cardinal McElroy said the archdiocese had “ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal located in Washington, D.C.” Led by Msgr. Rossetti, the St. Michael Center is a Catholic nonprofit that “conducts spiritual education workshops and trains clergy, religious, and laity,” according to its website.

Msgr. Rossetti had on May 29 posted a video to YouTube in which the exorcist had expressed his personal belief that “many, if not most, [UFO] sightings are, in fact, demons.” Such entities, he said in the video, “can do things that we canʼt do, such [as] the speed and all sorts of things that human beings canʼt do.”

Cardinal McElroy in his statement said Msgr. Rossettiʼs remarks “gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.” The cardinal also criticized the St. Michael Centerʼs “recent use of social media,” though the statement did not offer any specifics beyond that.

In a statement after the news broke, Msgr. Rossetti said he was “saddened” by the archdioceseʼs 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 said.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/archdioc ... c-activity

[p.falk]

How does that "gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism"?

Does the Church have a hardline on UFOs that they need to be interpreted as little green men from the vast stretches of the cosmic hinterlands?

Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist who has researched the matter (at the behest of the University he was employed with) feels that whatever they are, they are likely more spiritual than physical entities.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I really suspect there was more to the story. My hat is off to Msgr. Rosetti for handling the situation well.

[Stella]

How does that "gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism"?

Does the Church have a hardline on UFOs that they need to be interpreted as little green men from the vast stretches of the cosmic hinterlands?

Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist who has researched the matter (at the behest of the University he was employed with) feels that whatever they are, they are likely more spiritual than physical entities.

The first thing that I thought was if we were to speculate that aliens are demons, how would we treat them if close encounters do become a reality down the track? Think of the Pygmies in the Congo who have been regarded as demons, dehumanised and hunted by various groups in their history.

It seems just so dangerous to put that default belief or to even speculate on potential rational beings either physical or spiritual that God may have created away from earth.

[Doom]

How does that "gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism"?

Does the Church have a hardline on UFOs that they need to be interpreted as little green men from the vast stretches of the cosmic hinterlands?

Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist who has researched the matter (at the behest of the University he was employed with) feels that whatever they are, they are likely more spiritual than physical entities.

The tendency to interpret everything we don't understand as the activity of demons is a destructive one, and once one starts going down that path, it tends to become a slippery slope. I don't believe so called UFO's are aliens, but whatever they are (and more often than not, the explanations are benign, such as experimental aircraft or weather balloons, they are purely natural phenomena.

Indeed, we know for a fact that the CIA intentionally spread UFO stories to hide the existence of both the U2 spy plane and the SR-71 Blackbird, both of which were top secret for years before the CIA finally revealed their existence to the world. The entire point of "Project Blue Book" was to find people who saw these aircraft and convince them that they didn't really see what they saw, even if that meant convincing them that they saw an alien spaceship.

But what most alleged UFOs are is Pareidolia, which is the natural human tendency to see images when there is no image to see, such as the way people often see a human face in the grille of an automobile; people are seeing nothing at all, but the natural human tendency to make us see a pattern makes them think they see a UFO.

As far as the common image of aliens, "the Greys", this came from an episode of The Outer Limits, specifically the episode "The Architects of Fear," which aired on September 30, 1963. Less than 2 weeks later, the first alleged alien abduction occurred, where the aliens were described exactly as they appear in that episode. Surely not a coincidence.

But there are still unexplained phenomena, which, if we attribute them to demons, make scientific explanation impossible.

[p.falk]

How does that "gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism"?

Does the Church have a hardline on UFOs that they need to be interpreted as little green men from the vast stretches of the cosmic hinterlands?

Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist who has researched the matter (at the behest of the University he was employed with) feels that whatever they are, they are likely more spiritual than physical entities.

The first thing that I thought was if we were to speculate that aliens are demons, how would we treat them if close encounters do become a reality down the track? Think of the Pygmies in the Congo who have been regarded as demons, dehumanised and hunted by various groups in their history.

It seems just so dangerous to put that default belief or to even speculate on potential rational beings either physical or spiritual that God may have created away from earth.

I'm fine with it either way. I would reckon the Church would allow this type of distinction to rest in the conscience of the person who makes the decision. So, it could not "gravely" undermine the Church.

if I held a view that gravely undermined the Church... should I go confess it?
If I thought that UFO activity was demonic would that mean I need to bring it to the confessional?

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I don't know what His Eminence thought was doing the undermining.

[p.falk]

Fitting thread with the recent comments by Steven Spielberg for his new movie Disclosure Day.

Unless I'm missing something, some places seem to be exaggerating his comments to make it seem like he was directly taking aim at Christians. But I can't find any quote from him that supports that read. Seems pretty basic "is God only God for Earthlings?" (paraphrased).

But, what is interesting (and silly) is his comment about there actually being known aliens on earth that the government is aware of (and clearly Steven as well). And that "Disclosure Day" is not an if but a when.

"Oh boy, you want to know how important it is that you see my movie?? Because it's reeeeeeeaaaaaallll. See you at the cinema."
Subtle marketing, Spielberg.