This cheeky suggestion must have struck the hapless editors of Lord Jeff as harmless, if trenchant, humor. However, upon distribution of the magazine, they faced a significant uproar from the local Catholic community. Not only did the catholic institutions react with indignation, but local newspapers widely publicized the perceived insensitivity of the College's magazine.
The editorial board tried to make amends by recalling the issue and sending apologies to Bishop Thomas M. O'Leary of the Springfield Diocese and Mr. Raymond T. King, attorney for the Passionist Fathers' Monastery and the Mother of Sorrows Laymen's League. The board expressed its regret and emphasized the innocence of their intentions. "Whereas the above article and cartoon were published only with the idea that they were a harmless jest, not directed as a slur at the institutions in question or at the Catholic Church ... the Lord Jeff [sic] Board realizes the proportions of the mistake it has made and offers herewith an apology in full."
The Lord Jeff found an ally in another publication, however. An editorial printed in The Amherst Student defended the lighthearted aim of Lord Jeff, declaring that "there were absolutely no intentions of insult, sacrilege or slander" on their part.
The paper criticized the extremity of the community's reactions and condemned the vigor with which the local press took up the issue. "The vitriolic accusation of 'an attempt to insult and degrade Catholic institutions' hurled at the publication is absurd and the continued unfavorable publicity given the incident by the newspapers is a flagrant violation of the codes of exemplary journalism," The Student claimed.
However, the College's administration committee felt enough pressure to suspend Lord Jeff from publication for the remainder of the school year unless the committee felt assured that it would only print humor "of the proper type." A glance through the archives of the magazine suggests that Lord Jeff reformed its wicked ways by March.