By Antonio Caballos García
I was moved when several friends from the LDS Church sent me congratulations from the United States on the election of the new pope, Francis, who for Catholics and other Christians is the 266th uninterrupted 
successor of the Apostle Peter.
As you will have guessed, I am a Catholic. I am also a Knight of the Royal Brotherhood of the Knights of Saint Ferdinand. I do not believe I will ever be anything else (religiously speaking) until the day of my death, just as the members of my family have been Catholic for more than five centuries.
But in addition to being Catholic, I am a Christian—and a Christian who believes in equality and respect for all other Christians. That is to say, I am a follower of Christ, to whom it does not matter in the least what label any other Christian wears, nor his or her way of worshipping Heavenly Father, as long as he or she respects my form of worship and my way of thinking about the Creator. Here I might add that not once have I felt mistreated in this sense by my Spanish and American LDS friends—rather the complete opposite, for I have felt respected.
As the owner of a travel agency in Madrid, I have spent the last 40 years assisting students from Brigham Young University in their studies abroad in Spain. I have worked in harmony with hundreds of professors and several thousand students, not only of the Spanish and Portuguese Department but also of various other disciplines that have considered it important to learn in, live in, and appreciate the country where the Spanish language and culture originated. I can also assert that few American universities have a Spain study abroad program as complete as BYU’s in terms of curriculum, living with Spanish families, and getting to know the country.
Never—let me repeat, never—during the nearly 15,000 days that have passed since I began working with the Spain study abroad program, have the BYU students caused any behavior problems. What is more, the majority of Spanish hotels demand a deposit from student groups for the possible damage students might cause during their stay in those establishments, except from BYU students—a fact about which I feel proud when I speak with my colleagues.
Today some of “my” former professors and graduate teaching assistants occupy positions of responsibility at BYU, and several of “my” BYU students are now professors in other important American universities. They keep in contact with me and have also entrusted me with some of their current students.
I have inherited from Mormons their love for genealogy, having attended several courses given by the LDS Church in Madrid. I surprise my family and friends with the stories and adventures of ancestors about whom they were ignorant and who, through this genealogical work, have in some way returned to life—all thanks to the fantastic archives of the Catholic church (in those cases when they have not been destroyed by fire or barbarism). For that I want to express my gratitude to both churches.
Now nearing my retirement, I want to leave this grateful testimony, although in some way I hope to continue a few more years taking care of my dear students and professors from BYU.