Christ’s execution notice became with paradoxical unity the ‘confession of faith’, the real starting-point and rooting-point of Christian faith, which holds Jesus to be the Christ: as the crucified criminal this Jesus in the Christ, the King. His crucifixion is his cornoation; his coronation or kingship is his surrender of himself to men, the identification of word, mission, and existence in the yielding up of his very existence. His existence is thus his word. From the cross faith understands in increasing measure that this Jesus did not just do and say something; that in him message and person are identical, that he always already is what he says.” ~Pope Benedict XVI