Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, whose Roman Catholic archdiocese covers northeast Kansas, on May 9 called on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to stop taking communion until she disowns her support for the “serious moral evil” of abortion. That put the church in conflict with a rising star of the Democratic Party, often described as a “moderate” and perhaps the leading prospect to become Barack Obama’s vice presidential running mate. Naumann also took Sebelius to task for her veto April 21 of a bill, passed 2-to-1 by both houses of the Kansas Legislature, that would strengthen the state’s ban on late-term abortions by authorizing private lawsuits against providers. That followed by a year her veto of a bill requiring explicit medical reasons for a late abortion, which was preceded by vetoing other abortion legislation in 2006, 2005 and 2003.