About forcing people to convert

Hello.  I was listening to Brother Michael on"Coast to Coast am"  last night and wanted very much to

ask a question.  Brother said that the church proseletyzes for the purpose of saving souls.  That this

is a charitable thing to do.  All well and good.  However, what is the take on the Catholic Church using a heavy handed approach to converting indigenous peoples to the catholic  faith - especially when it involves cruel means to do so.  Is this charitable?  I am thinking mostly of converting the Indians of Latin America.  There was unconscionable brutality and coersion used - torture and killings.  Yet out of this came the spreading of the faith throughout South America.  Please comment.

Thank you.

Marilyn Carlson