Southern Baptists ready to put spotlight on sex-abuse crisis

ATLANTA - The Southern Baptist Convention has been entangled in a sex-abuse crisis for the past two years. Now it's preparing to host a high-profile conference on the topic that has kindled skepticism, even among some of the scheduled speakers. The three-day Caring Well conference will open near Dallas on Thursday, drawing hundreds of pastors and church officials from the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. The program features victim advocates, attorneys, therapists and at least 10 survivors of sexual abuse.

Several of those survivors say they have mixed feelings about the conference -- hoping it represents a genuine desire for change but concerned it might come across as a public relations exercise.