However we try to turn it, the whole buying legitimacy from the Church issue makes no sense, since Mike had to already be legitimate to broker the Immobiliare deal in his own name and in no way could he have been blind enough to think of a church as a pure institution.
Michael needed the final recognition from the church itself to make himself and others believe that he truly had become an honest citizen. Michael's knighthood could also have been be a strategic move to convince the church to sell their share in Immobiliare to him.
This actually happened in real life too with Joseph Profaci. Profaci ultimately failed in getting this recognition, but he almost got himself a knighthood.
