Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti is an American Catholic priest, psychologist, and exorcist who leads the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal. In June 2026 the Archdiocese of Washington removed him as one of its exorcists after he said in a video that many, if not most, UFO sightings are demons, making him a central figure in that year's debate over religious interpretations of unidentified anomalous phenomena.

Rossetti graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1973 and served in Air Force intelligence before entering the priesthood. He was ordained for the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, in 1984 and earned a doctorate in psychology from Boston College in 1994. He led Saint Luke Institute, a treatment center for clergy, from 1996 to 2009 and again in 2013-14, joined the theology faculty of the Catholic University of America in 2010, and was named a monsignor in 2006. He has also served as chaplain to the Washington Nationals. His public ministry centers on exorcism and deliverance, which he has practiced for about two decades.

On May 29, 2026, weeks after the Pentagon's first UAP file releases, Rossetti posted a video in which he said it was his personal belief that "probably many, if not most" UFO sightings were demons, adding that this was not church teaching. On June 3, Cardinal Robert McElroy removed him as an exorcist and ended the archdiocese's affiliation with his center, saying his statements linking UFOs to demonic presence and the center's recent use of social media gravely undermined the Church's precise teaching on the devil and exorcism. Rossetti said he was saddened, asked forgiveness for any failure to follow the Church's teaching, and pledged obedience. His own bishop in Syracuse said he remained a priest in good standing.

McElroy later told Catholic News Service that the decision was not really about UFOs, without elaborating. In July Rossetti said he still held faculties as an exorcist in other dioceses with his bishop's support, and his center resumed online deliverance sessions in late September 2026.

Rossetti's significance in UAP history is as the most prominent clergyman to argue publicly that the phenomenon is demonic, at a moment when similar views were circulating among some intelligence-linked figures, pastors, and politicians. His removal drew attention to how the Catholic Church handles extraordinary claims and to the wider "aliens are demons" argument associated with groups such as the alleged Collins Elite.