Exorcist Father Ripperger agrees to 1-year ‘fast’ from public speaking

Archbishop James Golka of Denver has asked Father Chad Ripperger, a prominent Catholic exorcist whose podcast appearances have reached millions of viewers, to take a yearlong break from public speaking and interviews.

Ripperger agreed to the request, according to a statement from Kelly Clark, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Denver, provided to the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and LifeSiteNews and later posted to the archdiocese’s website.

“Archbishop Golka recently met with Fr. Chad Ripperger to discuss his ministry and his community, the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother,” Clark said. “During that conversation, the Archbishop asked Fr. Ripperger to consider a one-year fast from public speaking and interviews.”

“The time will allow him to devote himself to the Society and to the people it serves,” she continued. “Fr. Ripperger readily agreed. At the end of the year, they will review the arrangement together.”

Golka is “grateful for Fr. Ripperger’s priestly service, exorcism ministry, and for the generous spirit in which he received this request,” the statement continued. “We ask the faithful to join us in praying for Fr. Ripperger and for the Society.”

LifeSiteNews reported Oct. 19 that Ripperger — who in 2012 founded the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother (also known as the Doloran Fathers), a semi-contemplative society of priests located in Keenesburg, Colorado, that focuses on spiritual warfare and traditional Catholic liturgy — had canceled several speaking engagements, including one scheduled for the outlet’s 30th anniversary gala in April 2027.

The archdiocese’s statement did not clarify whether the request would affect any of his other priestly duties, or whether it was disciplinary in nature.

Ripperger has drawn a large audience through appearances on podcasts hosted by Tucker Carlson and Shawn Ryan. In his April interview with Carlson, he spoke about the role of exorcism in the Gospels and what he sees as a decline in belief in the devil among Christians.

“A lot of the Christians will just say, ‘Well, I believe in God, but I don’t necessarily believe in the devil,’” Ripperger told Carlson. “Well, then how can you not believe that this is one of the primary missions of Christ, was to save us from them, ultimately?”

The nearly two-hour conversation also covered psychology, the nature of demons, and the distinction between supernatural and preternatural phenomena.

In his March interview with Ryan, Ripperger took the discussion further, addressing UFOs and alien abductions. He suggested in the four-hour interview that some reported abduction experiences were demonic, saying that if “you strip the veneer of the alien aspect of it off,” what remains is “just demons.”

Discussing Jeffrey Epstein’s island, Ripperger said the layout and things he had read online suggested occult involvement, though he acknowledged he could not be certain about everything he had seen.

In a later July episode, Ryan gifted him a rifle, prompting Ripperger — who had mentioned in their previous interview that he carries a firearm and that his community has a target range — to respond: “We’ll have to use it later this afternoon.”

The archdiocese has not said whether Golka’s request had anything to do with Ripperger’s remarks in either interview.

The development comes amid a larger discussion within the Church about how exorcists should approach speaking to larger audiences through podcasts and media.

A July Register feature examined this recent trend, in which several priests and experts said these appearances help people learn about the Church’s ministry, while others raised concerns that sensational talk about demons can frighten people and take the focus away from Christ.

On June 3, another prominent priest, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, was removed from his role as an exorcist in the Archdiocese of Washington. Rossetti had previously said in a YouTube video that he believes many UFO sightings are demonic in nature.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.