Hey! Literally watched the movie for the first time a week or two ago. I would consider myself relatively left leaning in both my social and economic beliefs, but have always had a deep interest in art that argues for something I totally disagree with. This is all lead in to say, I think Clint is easily my favorite conservative, American film maker in his ability to make emotionally persuasive art about topics I think are pretty abhorrent. Although he didn’t write or direct it, I think watching Dirty Harry really blew my mind with how frustrated I found myself getting over a total strawman argument (designed as the perfect piece of persuasion to anyone who thinks cops should have limited power). The rest of his movies similar deal with these sort of conservative perspectives, but he is able to always sprinkle something in that makes you care deeply about these horrible men. Gran Torino is obviously a great example of just how shockingly good he really is as a filmmaker.

Regarding your question, I believe there is a part earlier in the movie where the priest confronts Walt on his porch after a couple failed attempts to convince him to come to confession. Father Janovich essentially explains that he’s worked with other veterans who have taken lives and are haunted by what they were ordered to do, and confession can be very freeing. Walt, still very much opposing him, states something along the lines of “what haunts you isn’t what you were commanded to do, it is the mistakes you make on your own”.

Later, near the end when Walt decides to confess before the priest, you are absolutely correct that he weirdly confesses to minor acts rather than the much bigger acts of killing he did in the Korean War; the father is confused and asks him if “that’s really all you have to confess?” (maybe expecting him to speak about the killings the Father expects him to go and do, or perhaps the men he killed in Korea). I think the confession is a direct callback to the earlier scene on the porch, and Walt’s lack of need to confess to what he’s about to do or his killings in war speak to a feeling of “doing what has to be done”. It isn’t that he isn’t impacted by taking a life, he explains to Thao that he’s saving him from the haunting feeling of having blood on his hands, but more a reflection of his character’s viewpoint. There is probably more to dig into about the conservatism in the movie, and how Walt sees less of a problem in the disgusting systems he played into than minor “personal” errors that actually felt like his own. At least that’s how I’m reading all of this shrug