khosq.com

I came across this blog comment at Ditord's blog. I think it deserves wider audience.

Nerses Says:
July 9, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Since
this discussion has taken a turn towards catholicos, I felt I needed to
step in. In the late 1980s, I was working in a government institution
that’s dealt with airlifting children – victims of the Spitak
earthquake abroad, mainly to the U.S., France, etc.

At that time, there was only one color printer in the whole republic
and it was a gift to Garegin, then-archbishop of the Ararat Diocese,
now-catholicos, from his beloved Louise Simon Manougian. The printer
was at the St. Sarkis church in Yerevan. We were told by foreign
doctors who were to treat our children that color copies of the
children’s traumas were needed for initial screening. We found out
about the printer and made a phone call to Garegin. He agreed to let us
make copies. . . for money! We couldn’t believe our ears. The country
was in complete dismay, chaos and confusion reigned after the
earthquake, and our own government salaries (still in Soviet rubles)
were miserable. Nevertheless, we went there in the hope that when he
sees that it was not something that we’ve requested for our own profit,
but, rather, for the sake of many children whose medical reports we
took with us as a proof. We were wrong in our hope. The guy stood by
while we were making copies, then took the money that we gave fhim rom
our own pockets, hastily put it under the robe, and said good-bye.

I can understand the feelings of believers, but we need to
distinguish among religious dogma and religious mafia on the one hand
that are largely viewed as a stigma, and Christian faithfulness and
spirituality, on the other. This catholicos should go, as should the
authorities, former or present. We are not at the stage when we can say
that people enjoy a public-spirited government or a religious
authority. It will take time, jerks will still come, but I believe at
some point in time they will go, too.