Due to “unforeseen circumstances,” an event scheduled for later this month in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee featuring the controversial celebrity exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger was forced to change venues, from a retreat center run by the Catholic Schoenstatt movement to a nearby hotel. The theme of the $95-per-head gathering is, “Restore Truth Conference 2025: The Storm is Here — From Diabolical Deception to Restoration of Truth,” and it will take place on March 29.

The promotional materials for the event describe Fr. Ripperger’s talk as a repudiation of “the space alien phenomenon,” which apparently threatens to be “another diabolical disorientation of epic proportions,” with a “misguided philosophy” and the source of a “spiritual threat.” It is unclear from the flyer what previous event(s) also qualified as diabolical disorientation(s) of epic proportions, but it seems that space aliens are clearly high on the event organizer’s list of concerns.

A Gathering of Religious Fundamentalists

Fr. Ripperger is not the only figure holding unconventional and conspiratorial positions who is slated to speak at the event. Like Ripperger, the three other speakers — Robert Sungenis, Hugh Owen, and Ademar Rakowsky — have also espoused pseudoscientific and fringe views.

Sungenis is perhaps best known today as an outspoken geocentrist who believes the Earth is in a fixed position at the center of the universe, with the Sun and planets and stars revolving around it. In 2014 he and his production team successfully hoodwinked Star Trek Voyager actress Kate Mulgrew and a series of world-renowned scientists to appear in a documentary promoting this view. Mulgrew and many of the scientists renounced the documentary once they realized what it was about. For example, physicist Lawrence Krauss responded by writing an article for Slate entitled, “I Have No Idea How I Ended Up in That Stupid Geocentrism Documentary.”

Prior to his advocacy for a medieval understanding of astronomy, however, Sungenis was perhaps best known for promoting antisemitic views, earning him a rebuke from his bishop in 2007. In 2011, he was scheduled to speak at a conference in Westminster, but it was canceled due to his history of statements on Jews and Judaism. In subsequent years, Sungenis removed the antisemitic material from the internet (even having it scrubbed from the Internet Archive), but he has also reportedly stated that while he has not changed his views on Jews, he has chosen not to voice them publicly..

Another speaker, Hugh Owen, is the founder of the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation, a Catholic organization dedicated to promoting a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative. Not only that, but he holds that Catholics are doctrinally prohibited from believing in even “theistic” evolution because such a view “fosters contempt for Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and undermines confidence in God and his Word.” Owen has also asserted, “theistic evolutionism denies that man has had any special place in the history of the universe.”

Ademar Rakowsky, the fourth speaker, has also contributed to the work of the Kolbe Center, including an article that defends the suggestion that “medieval depictions of dragons are actually of dinosaurs that survived Noah’s Flood, a claim that other Young-Earth Creationists also use to discredit the molecules-to-man evolutionary hypothesis.”

The Catholic view of Faith and Science

The popes of the last century have approached the natural sciences with great respect and seriousness. For example, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI, reflects the Church’s long-standing respect for the natural sciences. The Church realizes that the pope is not a scientific authority, and therefore the pope relies on the work of the world’s leading scientists on scientific matters.

The views of the conference speakers, however, contradict this position of the Catholic Church. Church leaders embrace the scientific consensus on evolution, recognizing it as a well-supported explanation for the diversity of life on Earth, including human origins. Contrary to the Kolbe Center’s position, Catholic teaching does not reject evolutionary theory but sees it as compatible with belief in a creator.

The Church acknowledges that biological processes can explain how life has developed over time, but it also holds that human beings possess a spiritual dimension — the soul — which is not reducible to material processes and is directly bestowed by God. This perspective, articulated by Pope Pius XII in Humani Generis (1950) and reaffirmed by Pope John Paul II in 1996, reflects the Church’s understanding of the harmony between faith and reason. Pope Benedict XVI did not even consider a debate between creationism and evolution to be legitimate, once saying, “This clash is an absurdity because on one hand there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that we must see and which enriches our understanding of life and being as such.”

Pope Francis has likewise affirmed that evolution and the Big Bang theory do not contradict belief in God, but rather, require a divine creator. In this view, science and faith are not in conflict but offer complementary ways of understanding reality: science explains the mechanisms of the natural world, while faith speaks to its deeper purpose and meaning.

As recently as this week, Pope Francis sent a message to the Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life in which he said, “Listening to the sciences continually offers us new knowledge. Consider what we are told about the structure of matter and the evolution of living beings: there emerges a far more dynamic view of nature compared to what was thought in Newton’s time.” Among the speakers at the conference was the French theologian François Euvé, SJ, who gave a lecture on “Co-creation and evolution of the human.” In his talk, Euvé explained how our growing understanding of the natural world through scientific discovery should be intertwined with our spiritual lives, saying,  “The expression of Christian faith in the contemporary world must take into account scientific knowledge of the physical universe. As the Bible teaches, God reveals Himself through the concrete reality of His creation.”

The Church teaches that there is complementarity between science and faith. As Pope Francis taught in his first encyclical Lumen Fidei, which was cowritten by Benedict, “the light of faith is an incarnate light radiating from the luminous life of Jesus. … The gaze of science thus benefits from faith: faith encourages the scientist to remain constantly open to reality in all its inexhaustible richness. Faith awakens the critical sense by preventing research from being satisfied with its own formulae and helps it to realize that nature is always greater. By stimulating wonder before the profound mystery of creation, faith broadens the horizons of reason to shed greater light on the world which discloses itself to scientific investigation” (LF 34).

“I’m just like, that’s just absurd”

Many prominent creationists, including the aforementioned Hugh Owen, share stories of their struggles and personal journeys before arriving at their position. Even though I disagree with their conclusions, I admire their conviction and the importance they place on following their consciences.

The story of Fr. Ripperger’s rejection of biological evolution, however, is completely free of drama. In a recent video “preview” interview about the upcoming conference, he explained how he came to reject evolution: “I have never had any conviction in relationship to evolution as a viable thing from the very beginning, from the first time I heard it in — I think it was in either 8th or 9th grade when I heard the proposition. I’m just like, that’s just absurd.”

Fr. Ripperger’s outright rejection of evolutionary theory — based not on theological or scientific reasoning, but his instincts as an adolescent — stands in stark contrast to the Church’s approach to faith and science. While the popes and official Church documents engage with scientific discoveries and theological reflection to discern truth, Ripperger says he dismissed an entire field of study with a shrug — and as a teenager. His certainty is not an argument, it is a manifestation of religious fundamentalism and demonstrates a lack of maturity and humility. Scientists who dedicate their entire lives to scholarly research will openly admit that we have only scratched the surface of understanding the mysteries of the physical universe and biological life, yet Fr. Ripperger was able to discern that they were wasting their lives as a junior high school student.

Since then, of course, Ripperger has advanced his ideas about the physical sciences through his theological, philosophical, and metaphysical lens. In the video, he told the interviewer that accepting evolutionary theory leads to “some serious issues that have, that theologically become, uh, basically unsolvable.” Rather than acknowledge the work of popes and theologians to address questions of faith and reason, Ripperger instead appeals to junk science, Protestant fundamentalism, and superstition.

There are numerous online videos of Fr. Ripperger speaking about scientific topics, from vaccines to creation to mental health, and much of his understanding of the natural world is guided by what he calls “first principles.” Ripperger’s view of reality seems to be rigidly governed by these principles, and he apparently judges the validity of scientific hypotheses and discoveries according to them.

For example, this seems to be the basis of his rejection of evolution: “Since one species does not have the existence of the essence in itself to be able to confer it to another species, it cannot be the cause of another species/essence. There are two aspects to this consideration. The first is the nature by which a thing acts and the necessity for the essence to be created directly by God.” Rather than considering the possibility that evolution is the means by which God creates different species, Ripperger limits himself to the idea that the creation of every species on the planet was a unique act of divine intervention.

This view is fundamentalist because it rejects new discoveries outright, rather than engaging with them through reason and faith. It lacks curiosity and will not give serious consideration to evidence that challenges its claims. It treats experts and scholars in scientific fields — even those with deep religious faith — as deceivers and imposters. This is perhaps understandable (although unfortunate) in a Protestant context that prioritizes private interpretation of scripture over a religious authority. It is absurd, however, in a Catholic context. Yet fundamentalists like Ripperger will casually dismiss the teachings of the Magisterium and ecclesial authority when they (privately) deem them to be “contrary to tradition.”

It seems contradictory that those who claim to uphold Catholic tradition will limit their understanding of the creation of the universe to limited and simplistic models. Traditionalists often criticize the current form of the Mass because they believe it has replaced a God-centered liturgy with anthropocentrism, placing an overemphasis on humanity and obscuring the glory of the divine. Yet this is the effect of clinging to notions of young-Earth creationism and geocentrism. Such views prohibit contemplation of the wondrous mysteries of a universe larger and older than our minds can comprehend. It prevents us from seeing the awesome majesty and power of a God who can bring about human life through limitless complex processes on a speck of a planet amidst billions of stars and star systems. Instead, the geocentrist (physically and philosophically) puts man and man’s planet at the center of a universe that fits neatly into human categories and caters to a self-centered sense of superiority.

The “Aliens are Demons” hypothesis

What does all this have to do with the “space alien phenomenon”?

Ripperger, Sungenis, and their associates at the Kolbe Center seem to reject the possibility of extraterrestrial life altogether, as it does not fit within their rigid, literalist interpretation of Genesis. There is no room for this in a 6,000-year-old universe with a fixed Earth at the center, where everything — including every galaxy, star, and living species — was created directly by God in six 24-hour days.

In Ripperger’s limited perspective, because Genesis does not mention God creating life beyond Earth, extraterrestrial life is contrary to reason. He explained in his “preview” interview that alien life “doesn’t constitute something that is plausible because of a variety of different scientific, theological, and philosophical reasons.”

But it should not be surprising that Ripperger is not shy to attribute UFO and alien sightings — and even alien abductions — to other paranormal phenomena. In other words, he takes seriously the idea that space aliens are really demons and they are trying to fool us.

To be fair, Ripperger does not attribute all UFO activity or alien sightings to the demonic; he has said that the majority of sightings can be attributed to natural causes or human activity, such as weather balloons or government aircraft. But he also seems to grant legitimacy to tales of alien abduction and encounters with extraterrestrial beings, with the twist that these are really encounters with the demonic.

In researching this topic, I traced the origins of the ‘aliens are demons’ theory back at least as far as the condemned apparitions in Bayside, New York. This phenomenon centered around Veronica Lueken, a Long Island housewife who began sharing messages from her alleged encounters with Our Lady from 1970 until her death in 1995, including the idea that Pope Paul VI had been replaced with a body double and that children conceived through in vitro fertilization did not have souls. Among her many locutions, Lueken repeatedly insisted that flying saucers were of demonic origin, such as in 1985, when she said, “While We speak of agents of hell, My child, I also wish that you make it known that there are no vehicles coming from other planets—extraterrestrial vehicles. No, My child and My children; they are agents of hell in transport. … These are not ordinary spirits; these are the demons from hell: Satan’s cohorts, and satan himself.”

There are several outspoken figures pushing overlapping “Aliens are Demons” narratives. I hope to cover this trend in a follow-up article. In Ripperger’s case, he attributes his position to a book entitled Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection by Gary Bates, a Protestant author affiliated with Creation Ministries International. Bates argues in Alien Intrusion that UFO sightings and alien abductions are manifestations of spiritual deception and are in fact  fallen angels masquerading as extraterrestrials to lead people away from God. His argument hinges on the claim that alien encounters resemble demonic activity described in scripture and that many reported alien abductions have been stopped when victims invoke the name of Jesus. The adoption of this view by Ripperger and other Catholic traditionalists reveals a growing cross-pollination between Protestant fundamentalism and radical Catholic traditionalism.

One “type” of alien that Bates mentions throughout the book, and which has caught Fr. Ripperger’s attention, are grays (more commonly spelled “greys”). These are the aliens commonly depicted in science fiction as having skinny grey bodies and giant heads with large black eyes. Bates writes, “Interestingly, the grays appear to be the most common type in American cases, with ‘Nordics’ (tall, blond, European-looking beings) predominating in England and Europe, and bigfoot or monster types in South America” (p. 332).

In a recent appearance on the Avoiding Babylon podcast, Fr. Ripperger spoke about gray aliens with the confidence of a true believer:

“Demons who portray themselves in what they call themselves grays, and they literally manifest looking exactly like these aliens that you see out there, and they claim that they’re not demons, they’re not angels, they’re not humans, so there’s kind of this intermediate non-moral, ‘they’re not good or bad’ kind of thing. And it’s all a ruse. It’s basically just demons doing that to get people to go down the rabbit holes.

And there’s been more than one exorcist that’s actually had to deal with that. So does that have a connection to the Antichrist? Maybe in the sense that the Antichrist is going to be endowed with Satan’s intelligence. And so he’s going to — or Satan’s going to — basically, he’s going to be perfectly possessed, so it’s going to be Satan that’s going to be operating through this guy; and so it’ll be like an angelic intelligence, but it’s the same. It’s the same thing.

And in fact, if you look at abduction cases, for example — if you strip away the veneer of that it’s an alien or a demon — it’s actually the exact same patterns, which is the person loses bodily control.”

Here, Fr. Ripperger makes it clear that he’s not really a UFO skeptic at all. He seems to have bought the entire “alien abduction” narrative hook, line, and sinker. He believes aliens walk among us and that UFOs from other worlds populate our skies. The only twist is that he thinks aliens are actually demons.

As I review what I’ve just written, it’s hard for me to detect anything of Christ in this magical, fantastic worldview. This mentality has no room for the Beatitudes, no time to feed the hungry or clothe the naked, no time to forgive or ask for forgiveness. You won’t find advocacy for young-Earth creationism in the Magisterium or in the teachings of the popes, let alone “aliens are really demons.”

Our fear should not be the idea of pretend aliens deceiving us, but of superstitious men distracting us. When such figures try to convince us that fairy tales are real, they turn our attention away from Christ and away from what is good and true.

What can be done?

Fr. Ripperger’s distorted fundamentalist views seem to finally be receiving attention from mainstream Catholic leaders. The venue change in Wisconsin is not the first time in recent months that Ripperger has been bumped from a mainstream Catholic platform. Following my article about his views in September, videos featuring Ripperger with popular Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick were removed from the FORMED video streaming service, where his videos had garnered millions of views.

Additionally, in January, only days after Ripperger was announced as a keynote speaker for the Mount2000 retreat for Catholic youth held at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the announcement and his photo were quietly removed from Mount2000 social media. An Archdiocese of Baltimore official confirmed that Ripperger would no longer be speaking at the event.

It is encouraging that some Catholics have recently woken up to Ripperger’s wildly heterodox, superstitious, and conspiratorial views, especially considering that his appearances last year at prestigious Catholic venues including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York and Assumption Grotto in Detroit were allowed to proceed.

But there is still work to be done. In November, Ripperger is scheduled to appear at an event called the “Inferno Men’s Conference” in Colorado Springs alongside the aforementioned Stefanick and the local bishop, James R. Golka.

Hopefully his own superiors will come to realize that not only does he reject many of the Church’s teachings (including on women, the Catholic position on other religions, and the authority of the pope), but some of his views — particularly on the Covid pandemic, vaccines, and mental health — are potentially life threatening.

Conclusion

Fr. Ripperger and his fellow speakers at the “Restore Truth Conference” represent a disturbing trend in corners of the Catholic Church — a retreat from intellectual rigor and theological depth in favor of pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and an all-encompassing paranoia about modernity. While their rhetoric is couched in the language of faithfulness and spiritual warfare, it ultimately distorts Catholic teaching and fosters an unhealthy fixation on fear-based narratives that have little to do with Christ’s message.

The Catholic tradition, as articulated by the Magisterium, has long upheld the complementarity of faith and reason, encouraging the faithful to engage with scientific discovery and intellectual inquiry rather than dismissing them out of hand. In contrast, Ripperger’s rejection of evolutionary science, his embrace of Protestant fundamentalist arguments, and his bizarre claims about demonic extraterrestrials highlight the dangers of a faith unmoored from reason. The Church does not fear knowledge; it welcomes it as a path to deeper understanding of God’s creation. Catholics should be wary of those who claim to defend tradition while distorting both faith and reason. True fidelity to the Church means embracing the harmony between faith and scientific truth — not retreating into superstition and conspiracy.

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Image: Adobe Stock. By AndErsoN.