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Diamondbacks Manager "Insanely Proud" of Wife for Coming Forward with Priest-abuse Claim

By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
Arizona Republic
June 19, 2018

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2018/06/19/torey-lovullo-insanely-proud-wife-kristen-after-priest-fondling-allegation/715427002/

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he has long been aware that his wife was abused by a Catholic priest as a child in the 1990s and is "insanely proud of her for stepping up and telling her story."

Kristen Lovullo's claims of abuse first appeared in a report this week by the Buffalo News. After other misconduct claims about the Rev. Dennis Fronczak surfaced, she contacted the outlet and said she was repeatedly fondled by the priest in New York decades ago, when she was 9 to 12 years old.

Torey Lovullo told The Arizona Republic: "Those are hard things to do (coming forward). 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," he said. "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."

The Buffalo News last week had written about 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 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.

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

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.

 

 

 

 

 




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