Kristen Lovullo, Wife of Diamondbacks" Manager, Accuses Priest of Abuse in 1990s

By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
Arizona Republic
June 18, 2018

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2018/06/18/diamondbacks-manager-wife-kristen-lovullo-accuses-priest-new-york-misconduct/711148002/

Correction & Clarifications: An earlier version of this article misstated the location of the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Stephen. Both are in New York.

Kristen Lovullo, wife of Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, has accused a priest of fondling her when she was a child in New York in the 1990s, according to the Buffalo News.

The news outlet recently had written about Rev. Dennis Fronczak and why he was abruptly removed from his parish in Lancaster, New York, in 2015. The article said he was removed for inappropriate behavior. The Buffalo Diocese would not comment on the allegations, but told The Arizona Republic that the case remains under investigation, according to spokesman George Richert.

Richert said the complaints included some from Fronczak's time at the parishes of St. Stephen and St. Joseph, both in New York.

Lovullo contacted the Buffalo News over the weekend after reading the story about Fronczak. She said she attended St. Stephen parish school in Grand Island, New York, in the 1990s when Fronczak repeatedly fondled her, she told the Buffalo News.

"It wasn't a one-time thing. It was often," she told the Buffalo News.

"I’m insanely proud of her for stepping up and telling her story, for having the courage to stand up," Torey Lovullo told The Republic.

"Those are hard things to do. I’m walking on this side of it with her and I see the challenges that victims go through. It’s real. It’s not easy. She has emotionally dealt with this. Obviously, I’ve been aware of it for some time. She decided she was going to tell her story. She was very comfortable and confident with the direction she wants to go," he said.

The diocese spokesman confirmed Fronczak was at St. Stephens in the 1990s, although he said he did not have exact years available.

The Republic could not reach Fronczak for comment.

The investigation into Fronczak is being handled by the Vatican, Richert said. "The matter is now the subject of pending canon law proceedings," he said.

Republic reporter Nick Piecoro contributed to this article