Castro and the Catholic Church - from persecution to praise

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Baptized as a Roman Catholic and educated by Jesuits, Fidel Castro became a persecutor of the Church after seizing power in Cuba in 1959. Nearly 40 years later, he began a rapprochement that was eventually to enable the Vatican to broker a historic resumption of ties between Cuba and the United States. The change in tone was evidenced on Saturday when Pope Francis, who met Castro in Cuba last year, said that his death was "sad news" and that he was gri