Robert Cardinal McElroy has removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as the Chief Exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington
Apparently because he said that aliens are actually demons
I have turned my research antennae to subject matter that is somewhat new to me of late. Although I was raised Catholic (baptized and such), I was never what you would call a religious person. I am still not. I am a hardcore scientist who seems to require scientific evidence in order to add a piece of information to my knowledge base.
I have approached my recent studies of biblical texts in this manner: as this scientist. I am studying Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke in to his close buddies), the “Gospels” (especially the non-Canonical Gospels aka: Apocrypha), and most importantly, digesting everything I read and hear with slow, careful and silent thought and meditation.
So far in my studies, it seems to me that the most important words ever written down with regard to Jesus might be found in the “Gospel” of Thomas: a collection of 114 Sayings1 that apparently Jesus himself spoke to his close followers. To me, it’s kind of like TL;DR of his teachings. A copy of the Gospel of Thomas written in Coptic (if only it had been written in Aramaic - this is a different article) was found in the Nag Hammadi Desert (Egypt) in 1945, and now comprises a part of the famous Nag Hammadi Library.
Apparently, the words of this Gospel were among other Gospels rejected for being too unorthodox (ie: went against emerging orthodox Christian consensus) and it has even been referred to as “hidden knowledge”.
Hidden things to me are like creamy dark chocolate bars made with real cacao melting over fresh almonds in the hot sun: I want to consume them.
One of the Sayings from this compilation that strikes me is Saying 29.
N.B. It is of great importance to consider the translation aspect of ancient writings with regard to meaning, in that meaning can be lost through improper translation. (This is yet another very important article I will be writing soon.)
Many scholars have indeed translated the Sayings from the Gospel of Thomas2 including Saying 29, and although there are subtle differences in the translations from Coptic to English, the meaning remains pretty much the same, and likely retained. (See Peter Kirby’s site. He very kindly presents three examples of Saying 29 translated by Beate Blatz, Bentley Layton and Jean Doresse for side-by-side for comparison.)
Saying 29 strikes my fancy because of its parallels with everything else I am researching these days with regard to the nature of existence (life and death), consciousness and the “meaning of life”.3 Specifically, it speaks to my questions about the existence of a higher self or soul and the material world itself.
What he is actually revealing in this Saying is that there is a soul, and there is a body. It’s a philosophical reflection on the nature of human existence.
Why (and how) are divine beings living in imperfect material bodies, and which came first? The soul egg or the body egg? Did the body summon the soul, or did the soul summon the body? Jesus did not simply seem to be wondering; he was invoking awakening.
Now why would awakening be problematic for the Church?
All of the non-Canonical Gospels were perceived as problematic rendering them “censored” from the Canonical Gospels, not just the Sayings in the Gospel of Thomas. If you prefer, you can consider the implications from writings in the Gospel of Philip. For example, if people already carry divinity within themselves, then what’s the role of institutional religion? If the Kingdom of God lies within, then why does one need a priest as an intermediary?
If you have direct access to the divine, simply by awakening to your own nature, what’s the purpose of elaborate hierarchies and rituals?4 Makes one think, no?
Jesus said, “…the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.” Gospel of Thomas, Saying 3
This sounds like wisdom to me, rather than rules on how to obey religious authority. It seems to emphasize inner transformation over external rituals. Is this what the Church was afraid of? Is this the reason for the inception of the Council of Nicaea?
Despite the fact that much of what I’ve written here would likely have gotten me disappeared or burned at the stake (it still might), it was important for me to set the stage with regard to the removal of the Chief Exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington. In light of what I have read and learned, and the amazing parallels so obvious between Jesus’ time and now, it makes me wonder what it was that got Exorcist dude fired.
What got Monsignor Stephen Rossetti fired?
A few days ago, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti went viral on X. (This whole social media virality phenomenon raises another boatload of questions for me, by the way. I believe much of what we are allowed to see is what we are allowed to see.)
You can click on the photo below to hear what he said.
Doesn’t seem fire-worthy to me. He simply states that the recent UFO sightings are not UFOs, but demons, and speaks on the use of manipulation and fear and division.
There's no question in my mind, it's my personal belief that many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons and they can do things that we can't do such thus the speed and all sorts of things that human beings can't do.
The reason why this is important is because they will try to manipulate us.5
I responded to this Tweet, of course. Girlfriend never has an opinion.
I personally don’t believe that any authority lies outside of myself. That might sound like a bold statement to make, but I think this is precisely what Jesus was trying to convey to his beloved followers, according to my research so far. Gosh I wish I could have met him. He seems like the ultimate cool dude: rebellious and virtuous and with a poetic sense of humor.
I find the words of the Chief Exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington especially telling considering that the so-called Nostradamus of Canada-China, Jiang Xueqin, has made a similar claim of late.
'Everyone knows it's complete nonsense,' he said. 'It's complete BS. There are no aliens; there's no alien technology. It's a hallucination. You just distract people.'
Instead, Jiang argued that society is becoming increasingly fractured as people embrace competing fears and belief systems.
Alrighty then. So who cares, right? People are entitled to believe what they want to believe, and we don’t have to agree with them, right? We can all still be friends.
So why did Monsignor Stephen Rossetti get fired? Were his words perceived as anti-establishment speak?
The claimed reason for his removal - as written in the PR statement released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington - is the following:
Cardinal McElroy said that statements made by Monsignor Rossetti linking UFOs 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.6
“Gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism”?
What exactly does this mean? What is the “precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism? And how did he undermine the teaching by simply stating that it’s demons at play, not aliens? He didn’t really link UFOs to demonic presences - as in, he did not conflate the two - he made a clear distinction, and rules out the UFO stuff (as a ruse - my words) wherein the real problem we humans are facing involves demons. No better man to have on the job than an exorcist, in that case!
It seems to me that what he said is in-line with the Church’s idea that demons exist and need to be expelled. This looks more like a messaging and authority issue than a deep theological breach, doesn’t it? What do you think is the reason for his removal?
I realize I wrote more on my recent research into early biblical writings than on the titled subject matter of this article, but a shared fundamental question arises from it all:
Are we, and have we always been, sovereign beings?
And if we are, what does that mean?
Stay tuned! And I hope I haven’t offended anyone. :) Not my intention.
This site has very loose translations of the 114 Sayings. https://www.gospels.net/thomas
I have read all 114 of these Sayings and Saying 29 shares the common way in which Jesus appeared to try to convey information. He seemed to speak almost in riddles, with humor, and always with an intention to provoke true free thought from whomever heard him speak. He never just said stuff in obvious ways. It was almost poetic - and always evocative - how he spoke. I honestly believed he was trying to guide people to figure stuff out for themselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYnObx6nzvk
https://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/26-PR-Statement-for-Msgr-Rosetti.pdf
Dearest Dr Rose, the day you worry about offending people will be a sad one for me and many thousands of others.
You are (in alphabetical order) far too accomplished, articulate, beautiful, intelligent and powerful a person NOT to give offense.
The Monsignor sounds like a decent man; too honest methinks for an organisation that has effectively maintained a flimsily-evidenced narrative to its massive benefit for two millennia.
Stay dangerous, Charles.
Father Carlos Martins, also a noted exorcist, said the same thing about demons/aliens on the Exorcist Files podcast. He would be a great person to talk to about this. Thank you for all of your good work.