The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 [work] -

His Sicilian exile, his marriage to the innocent Apollonia, her death by car bomb meant for him—these are the Stations of the Cross for a man becoming a monster. By the time he returns to America, the gentle boy is gone. He becomes the Don after his father’s heart attack, and at his nephew’s baptism, he renounces Satan while his men execute the heads of the Five Families.

Michael confesses to a cardinal, to God, to a man who offers him absolution. But confession without sacrifice is theater. In the end, Michael Corleone cannot repent because he cannot give up power. the godfather trilogy: 1901-1980

But the past does not launder. It metastasizes. His Sicilian exile, his marriage to the innocent