Christian group backs away from ex-gay therapy

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The country's best-known Christian ministry dedicating to helping people repress same-sex attraction through prayer is holding its annual conference in the Twin Cities.

Exodus International expects about 600 ministers and followers at the four-day conference that starts Wednesday. The group is meeting as its president, Alan Chambers, increasingly tries to distance Exodus from the idea that homosexuality can be "cured."

Chambers is married to a woman but says he is sexually attracted to men. He says Exodus should simply help Christians like him trying to reconcile deeply held beliefs with sexual feelings they view as sinful.

Gay rights activists says even with the change in tone, groups like Exodus continue to portray homosexuality as inherently wrong in a way that's damaging to many people.