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Casas: Spanish Crown
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For Las Casas there could be no salvation in Jesus Christ apart from social justice. Thus, the question was not whether the Indians were to be "saved"; the more serious question was the salvation of the Spanish who were persecuting Christ in his poor.
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Not until his fortieth year did Las Casas experience a moral conversion, perhaps the awakening of a dormant sensitivity as a result of the horrors he saw about him. His early efforts at the Spanish court were largely directed at securing approval for the establishment of model colonies in which Spanish farmers would live and labor side by side with Indians in a peaceful coexistence that would gently lead the natives to Christianity and Christian civilization. The disastrous failure of one such project on the coast of Venezuela (1521) caused Las Casas to retire for 10 years to a monastery and to enter the Dominican order. He had greater success with an experiment in peaceful conversion of the Indians in the province of Tezulutlán - called by the Spaniards the Land of War - in Guatemala (1537-1540).
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It was there that Las Casas first began to gain his reputation as a protector of the Indians. Leading opposition forces against the Spanish invasion was a chief named Hatuey. Captured, he was sentenced by the governor, Diego Velázquez, to be burned alive. Though Las Casas intervened in Hatuey's behalf, he was overruled by the governor. But he had one consolation: Hatuey's death gave him vivid material for his exposé of Spanish cruelty toward the Indians. In his Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Las Casas relates that Hatuey was given a chance to embrace christianity before being burned so that his soul might go to heaven.
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The CASAS approach combines intensive language study with family stays and cultural studies. CASAS students study Spanish during the mornings from 8:30-12:30 in classes of 1, 2 or 3 persons. Afternoon activities include visits to human rights organizations and development agencies as well as lectures by Guatemalans from a variety of backgrounds. Each of the first 8 weeks has a theme, such as social reality, Maya culture, human rights, poverty and wealth, women’s issues, health and development, the arts, religion and faith, or peace-building. During the last segment of the independent term, students choose an organization with which to volunteer for 4 weeks. Typical options include orphanages, agriculture, natural medicine, weaving and education.
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Spanish Crown