He wants all to know he is fallible, he puts his pants on one leg at a time
This makes sense. I wonder however from the article if he is actually sorry he did this. He states that he still carries it with him and the impression is that the theft was OK since he was planning on using the cross to remind him of merciful works. As a demonstration of his humanity there should be an acknowledgment that his actions were not OK. This is missing from the narrative.