Here is Castro's obituary: Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S., Dies at 90. In Castro's article it states,
It's a long article with lots of information and comments about Castro, some of it complimentary and some of it critical. I would say that some of the characterization of Castro is much worse, much more critical and "disrespectful" than Monson's. It's clear that Castro accomplished a number of things, for good or bad, and left behind a legacy.He wielded power like a tyrant, controlling every aspect of the island’s existence. ... He personally sent countless men to prison.
But it was more than repression and fear that kept him and his totalitarian government in power for so long. He had both admirers and detractors in Cuba and around the world. Some saw him as a ruthless despot who trampled rights and freedoms; many others hailed him as the crowds did that first night, as a revolutionary hero for the ages.
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His legacy in Cuba and elsewhere has been a mixed record of social progress and abject poverty, of racial equality and political persecution, of medical advances and a degree of misery comparable to the conditions that existed in Cuba when he entered Havana as a victorious guerrilla commander in 1959.
And here's the one for the last pope to have died: Catholic Leader's Death Comes After Long and Public Illness. It states,
There are many more Catholics in the world than Mormons. John Paul II was much more known than Monson. In some ways, John Paul II's obituary is more respectful than Monson's though there are definitely criticisms. It does point out some of John Paul II's accomplishments. I suspect that when Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI passes, the Times obituary will have significantly more criticism than for his predecessor.John Paul II's detractors were often passionate as his supporters, criticizing him for what they said was tradition-bound papacy in need of a bolder connection with modern life if the church wanted to bring back to the faith people in more secular Western nations.
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"A pope of many, great gifts, and of many bad decisions."
Among liberal Catholics, he was criticized for his strong opposition to abortion, homosexuality and contraception, as well as the ordination of women and married men.
I'm beginning to think that what people object to in Monson's obituary are not so much the criticisms and problems. They're more concerned about the lack of accomplishments. But, they can't really point to any either. What the obituary makes fairly clear is that Monson didn't really accomplish much. Neither the good things nor the bad can be directly traced to his hand. Unlike John Paul II, he didn't become known for reaching out to others. Even within the faithful he demonstrated no core teachings or concerns. His only notable accomplishment, at least within his tenure and for some decades leading up to it, was outliving his predecessor. For a man who is supposed to be god's living mouthpiece, revealing the will of god, the lack of vision and impact feels kind of harsh, but that's due to Monson's and not The Times's actions.
