We published a letter Saturday regarding a Don Wright editorial cartoon that appeared earlier last week, that stated, in part: “Your offensive, Catholic-bashing cartoon . . . depicts a map of the United States of America in which our nation has been renamed ‘ROME’ with a caricature of President Bush saying, ‘Let history be my judge!’ Was it ridiculing and condemning President Bush for defending the sanctity of all human life, traditional marriage and religious freedom of conscience protection for all Americans, including medical professionals?” She later demands we make “a public apology, especially to your Catholic readers” for having run the cartoon. We also received a couple of phone calls about the cartoon – apparently some people chose to read “Rome” as the Vatican. We thought it was pretty clear that Wright was referring to the fall of the Roman Empire, and so did a reader who followed up on Saturday’s letter with this:

Editor.
What criteria were used by the decision maker to publish the letter . . . “Criticizing Bush was anti-Catholic?”
Is this woman just stupid or so “fundamentalist” that any reference to Rome means it has something to do with Catholicism.
I’m going on the basis that Don Wright who did the cartoon was following Doonesbury who has consistently used the Roman Centurion helmet as a symbol for Bush and Bush’s “take” that he was the “Emperor.” There was no recent references to any types of news that could possibly be related to the use of Rome in this context.
Get some people in these positions who have some idea of relevance and not publish garbage just because it might be controversial.

As stated above, we received a couple of phone calls about the cartoon as well as the letter. So not everyone “got it.” (Our own cartoonist, Matt Davies, opined that Wright could have made his meaning clearer by, say, drawing Bush in a toga and fiddling.)  Cartoons are more subject to interpretation than a written statement of opinion,  and this one apparently had just enough ambiguity to allow some readers to take offense.  We certainly don’t agree with the interpretation of the cartoon as “anti-Catholic,” but those who feel that way are entitled to their own view.