Tentative Response: Catholics and Inidians

De Las Casas was there in the Indies. Does that give his observation more weight? 

De Las Cases may have more authority in commenting on the Indians because he has lived with them and so he has obtained first hand experience as to what to expect from the Indians. It is important to note that De Las Casas was a conquistador and the fact that his views on the Indians softened is notable, but he still imposes his western views in evaluating the indigenous people. De Las Casas still sees the indigenous through a western lens and therefore, while his observations carry some weight to the people of Spain, they don't in the sense that he is only justifying the indigenous peoples' humanity from his European views of indigenous people.

De las Casas is especially problematic since he is hailed as some kind of savior to the indigenous people. He merely was acting self-righteous in believing that these people, with a different, yet sophisticated, culture, were equal because they had potential to be western. This is way too reminiscent for me of assimilation tactics used here in the United States to subdue the Native Americans. To say that De las Casas observations carry more weight also means to say that the Western outlook on society is the best way, which is not true.