Patriarchy in action

Vladimir Lazarević has decided to go and face trial, and although it has taken him since October 2003 to do it -- a luxury afforded to the rare indictee in the world -- he is receiving warm words of congratulation. There is probably nothing wrong with a verbal pat on the back for fulfilling basic obligations, if it makes the indictee feel better. One of my favorite quotations from Harry Truman is the one in which he describes the president as:

"...a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering,
kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway."

But Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church has gone a bit further. He says that Lazarević is going to "represent the interests of the people and defend the truth." What interest does the Patriarch have in mind?