Exorcist Removed Over UFO Remarks as Church Reaffirms Demons vs. Extraterrestrial Life Distinction

To the point

Stephen J. Rossetti was removed from his archdiocesan exorcist role after a May video about UFOs in which he claimed belief in extraterrestrial life isn’t contrary to Catholic teaching but warned that many sightings could be demonic, and Cardinal Robert McElroy said the remarks undermine the Church’s precise teaching on the devil and exorcism, while Catholic theology, echoed by Aquinas, holds that demons are immaterial beings that can affect matter but are not aliens, the Church remains open to the possibility of extraterrestrial life under God yet cautions against conflating demons with aliens, underscoring fidelity to doctrine and careful interpretation of phenomena.