Affirming sinners in their innate dignity and worth is exactly what makes a great bishop and is wondrously reflective of God’s Word made flesh! It is heretical to say that Jesus’ salvific action is contingent upon behavior.  Jesus never did, although his church has been doing so for centuries.  As Richard Rohr has written, “The cross is a healing message about the violence of humanity, and we tragically turned it into the violence of God, who we thought needed "a sacrifice" to love us.”
The teaching Church does state the ideal behavior of one living in God’s kingdom (even before physical death).  But it also stresses that what it states as the ideal is only achieved when we are in perfect communion with God—something that is perfected in eternity and not in time.
When we say we are redeemed sinners, we do not mean that we used to be sinners but now we are saved or redeemed,  but rather that, even as sinners, we are saved!  That is the paschal mystery.  It is a gift, freely given!