A prominent priest who hosts a popular podcast about exorcisms is suing two lay Catholic commentators for defamation, alleging that they falsely told listeners of another podcast that he is not an exorcist. The two commentators are associates of a well-known exorcist, Father Chad Ripperger, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
Father Carlos Martins, host of "The Exorcist Files" and author of a book with the same title, filed the lawsuit, which is pending, in November 2025 against Jesse Romero (identified in court papers as Jesus O. Romero Jr.) and Kyle Clement. At the time, Romero was the principal host of the podcast "Jesus 911," while Clement, director of formation and training for a religious society of priests that Ripperger founded, was a guest on Romero's podcast.
The lawsuit also names as a defendant Catholic Resource Center Inc., of Los Angeles, which operates Virgin Most Powerful Radio, the broadcaster of "Jesus 911." According to Martins' complaint, Clement made false statements about Martins while appearing on the podcast in November 2024.
"Clement asserted that Fr. Martins 'is not who he says he is'" and that Martins is "opining and talking about things which he does not know," according to Martins' complaint, which calls Clement's statements "false and defamatory" because, it says, "Fr. Martins has functioned as an exorcist and has both the knowledge and experience to perform and speak on exorcism."
"These statements harmed Fr. Martins' credibility as a religious figure and exorcist and directly affected the sale and reception of 'The Exorcist Files' book that was newly released at the time these episodes aired," states Martins' complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. "In addition, these statements caused 'The Exorcist Files' to lose advertisers and listeners, which resulted in financial losses."
But Romero and Clement "deny any allegation that they published false or misleading statements" about Martins during the podcasts and maintain that the priest is not an exorcist, according to a formal answer to Martins' complaint filed in court in September 2026.
"It is Defendants['] strongly held belief that Plaintiff is not an exorcist …," the defendants state in court papers, questioning Martins' credentials and describing the priest's "traveling across the United States to perform exorcisms" as "both improper and out of the ordinary."
Private inquiries
The statements Clement and Romero made about Martins during three late-2024 "Jesus 911" podcast episodes (Nov. 20, Nov. 27, and Dec. 4) followed inquiries Romero made privately in the summer of 2023.
Romero sent Martins an email message Aug. 29, 2023, asking for his "status as an exorcist" while identifying himself as a radio and podcast host and as a "member of the Liber Christo team under Fr Ripperger," according to an exhibit filed in court by Martins' lawyer.
Liber Christo is an organization founded by Ripperger and Clement for "training priests, deacons and laity in the ministry of liberation" from purported demonic possession.
Martins referred Romero to the priest's website without answering his questions, according to court papers.
Romero also solicited an email message from Martins' religious society, Companions of the Cross, about the priest, to which the society responded.
"In answer to your inquiry Fr. Carlos has not been appointed as an exorcist by a particular diocese. His full-time ministry is Treasures of the Church, however, due to his travels, he has been involved in exorcisms with the appropriate permission and or by request of the corresponding bishop," the society's email message states.
According to court papers, Romero quoted from the email message during a podcast episode released Nov. 27, 2024, but stopped at "Treasures of the Church" and left out the part about Martins receiving "appropriate permission" from diocesan bishops to perform exorcisms.
Crossing a line?
Romero's partial quotation of the society's email message about Martins during the podcast is a flashpoint in the case.
On Aug. 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge F. Kay Behm denied the defendants' motion to dismiss the case, writing that "the court agrees that Plaintiff has the better argument." The judge highlighted a particular statement that, according to her ruling, Romero made on the podcast about Martins: "I just don't understand why he's purporting to be an exorcist when his Order says he's not."
With that statement, the judge wrote, Romero "appear[s] to have crossed the line between an opinion that Fr. Martins is not an exorcist to statements of fact that the email from his own Order says he is not an exorcist."
The email message from the Companions of the Cross "does not say that Plaintiff is not an exorcist," the judge wrote.
The ruling allowed the lawsuit to proceed but did not determine whether the defendants had defamed Martins.
Two weeks later, on Sept. 4, 2026, the defendants in their formal answer to Martins' complaint acknowledged that "Romero only read a portion of the e-mail in question" during the podcast but described it as a choice the defendants made "consistent with their beliefs" that Martins is not an exorcist.
Unspecified damages
Martins is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit for harm to his reputation, earning ability, and physical well-being allegedly caused by the podcasters' statements about him.
On the financial side, Martins' complaint says he had to cancel "worldwide speaking engagements" associated with the publication of his book "The Exorcist Files," published in November 2024, and that his podcast lost advertisers and listeners.
Martins' complaint says "multiple priests contacted" him following the "Jesus 911" podcasts in November and December 2024 and that "at least one priest advised Fr. Martins that multiple people in his parish were scandalized by the podcasts and asked if Fr. Martins was a fraud."
"Everywhere he goes, he fears people believe him to be a fraud, who is not worthy of the priesthood and not to be trusted as an exorcist," the complaint states.
Martins' complaint also alleges that he "suffered severe emotional distress, including anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, dread, grief, and a sense of hopelessness," as well as a brain injury called dendritic atrophy, allegedly caused by emotional distress. The complaint says the injury makes the brain "more susceptible to anxiety and depression."
"Fr. Martins' cognitive abilities have been permanently diminished because of the Defendants' conduct," the complaint states.
Neither Martins nor his religious community nor the lawyer representing him in the case could be reached for comment by the time this story was published.
Clement and a spokesman for Catholic Resource Center also could not be reached for comment.
A spokesman for Romero, who currently hosts "The Jesse Romero Show" podcast, declined an interview request from the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.
"Jesse would welcome an interview after the case is adjudicated and talk about the case from the beginning to end," said Anita Romero, Jesse Romero's event coordinator, by email.
The defendants' lawyer, H. William Burdett, declined a request for comment.
Ripperger, who, at the request of Denver Archbishop James Golka, has agreed to a one-year moratorium on public speaking and interviews, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday night. The Register attempted to contact him through the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, known as the Doloran Fathers, a semi-contemplative society of priests he founded in the Archdiocese of Denver.
A scheduling conference in the case is set for Oct. 29.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
