A headline in last Monday's Mercury on the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Lehigh University has generated some debate on what is appropriate for newspaper headlines.

"LAMA MIA!" was the headline above a photo of a smiling Dalai Lama surrounded by flowers and a news story reporting on his Sunday afternoon lecture in Lehigh's Stabler Arena. The photo by Daniel P. Creighton and story by Brandie Kessler depicted and described a man who, though a figure of global esteem, speaks with humility and humor.

The headline, written to inspire a smile, reflected the talk and the image His Holiness offered in the Sunday event. His words dwelt on inspiring compassion, a little more levity and less ponderous attitudes among people, and humility. More than once during his talk, he laughed at himself, making the point that even the spiritual head of a religion and a winner of the Nobel peace prize can make a mistake and chuckle about it.

The headline, a play on the expression and now movie title "Mama Mia!" (which loosely translated means Wow!), was chosen to reflect the importance of his visit in a lighthearted way. It was certainly more creative and intelligent than "Hello Dalai!"

But, not all readers saw it that way. Not everyone smiled.

Several people called and emailed us to complain that we were being disrespectful of a religious figure. One person asked, "Would you say, 'Pope on a Rope'?" Another urged that the person who wrote the headline and the person who approved it should be fired.

Opinions in the newsroom were mixed. "Never have fun with religion," said some staffers. Others said that by itself the headline would have been offensive, but over the picture of the mischievously smiling His Holiness, the lighthearted approach worked. It almost seems as if the Dalai Lama is laughing at our play on words.

A poll at http://www.pottsmerc.com/ produced similar mixed results. Thirty-six percent of people answering the question, "What did you think of the headline Lama Mia in Monday's Mercury?" said it was terribly offensive. The same percentage said it was funny.

Other choices getting a few votes were "mildly tasteless" and "outrageously hilarious."

The real test of whether or not the headline was offensive should belong to His Holiness, according to staff writer Brandie Kessler, who covered the lecture at Lehigh. "I don't know for certain," she said, "but I think if you showed it to him he would smile. And, the point of his talk was that people should offer smiles and compassion to others."

The best headlines in newspapers involve risk. Any time something is written that skirts the edge, that is intended to invoke humor or any emotional response -- which is the definition of a great headline -- the writer runs the risk of offending someone.

This is not a risk we take lightly; we try not to offend. But last weekend, the words of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama made sense to us and we chose to follow our instincts.

"We all have same potential to develop more warmheartedness," he said.

A little humor can help us get there.