I had a lengthy discussion over the weekend with my wife regarding Michael's confession and the fate of his soul. She is very deep into the Catholic religion, philosophically and intellectually. I asked her if she thought Michael would go to heaven after confessing to Cardinal Lamberto (quote above). She didn't think so for two reasons. On one count he might; he confessed but, was he TRULY sorry for his sins? We could assume yes, by his reaction and his later conversation with Connie. BUT, he would still spend lots of time in purgatory. On the second reason; he still condoned the actions of Vincent by omission. He didn't overtly know what Vincents actions were, but he knew the intent of Vincent and made no attempt to change the direction of Vincents actions - killing Lucchesi, Gilday, etc. In a sense he is guilty by being an accomplice. And as Lamberto said, "You will not change."