Sagario Kobe John D.

Third Case Study: Did Rizal Retract?

Verdict: He did but that does not change anything.

Since Rizal’s retraction letter was discovered by Father Manuel Garcia, C.M. in 1935, its content
has become a favorite subject of dispute among academicians and Catholics. The letter, dated
December 29, 1896, was said to have been signed by the National Hero himself.

It stated: “I declare myself a Catholic and in this religion in which I was born and educated I
wish to live and die. I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and
conduct has been contrary to my character as son of the Catholic Church.”

The controversy whether the National Hero actually wrote a retraction document only lies in the
judgment of its reader, as no amount of proof can probably make the two opposing groups—the
Masonic Rizalists (who firmly believe that Rizal did not withdraw) and the Catholic Rizalists
(who were convinced Rizal retracted)—agree with each other.

History books tell most people that the first draft of the retraction was sent by Archbishop
Bernardino Nozaleda to Rizal’s cell in Fort Santiago the night before his execution in
Bagumbayan. But Rizal was said to have rejected the draft because it was lengthy.

According to a testimony by Father Vicente Balaguer, a Jesuit missionary who befriended the
hero during his exile in Dapitan, Rizal accepted a shorter retraction document prepared by the
superior of the Jesuit Society in the Philippines, Father Pio Pi.

Rizal then wrote his retraction after making some modifications in the document. In his
retraction, he disavowed Masonry and religious thoughts that opposed Catholic belief.

“Personally, I did not believe he retracted, but some documents that was purchased by the
Philippine government from Spain in the mid-1990s, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila,”
showed some interesting points about the retraction, said Jose Victor Torres, professor at the
History department of the De La Salle University.
Popularly known as the Katipunan and Rizal documents, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila is a
body of documents on the Philippine revolutions that contains confidential reports, transcripts,
clippings, and photographs from Spanish and Philippine newspapers.Despite this, Torres said his
perception of the Filipino martyr would not change even if the controversies were true.”Even
though it would be easy to say he retracted all that he wrote about the Church, it still did not
change the fact that his writings began the wheels of change in Philippine colonial society during
the Spanish period—a change that led to our independence,” Torres said. “The retraction is just
one aspect of the life, works, and writings of Rizal.”Dr. Augusto De Viana, head of UST’s
Department of History , also believes that Rizal retracted and said the National Hero just
renounced from the Free Masonry and not from his famous nationalistic works. “He (Rizal)
retracted.
He died as a Catholic, and a proof that he died as a Catholic was he was buried inside the sacred
grounds of Paco Cemetery,” said De Viana, who compared the martyr with Apolinario Mabini, a
revolutionary and free mason who was buried in a Chinese cemetery.De Viana said it is not
possible that the retraction letter had been forged because witnesses were present while Rizal
was signing it.
He added that the evidence speaks for itself and moves on to the question on Rizal’s character as
some argue that the retraction is not in line with Rizal’s mature beliefs and personality.“Anti-
retractionists ask, ‘What kind of hero is Jose Rizal?’ They say he was fickle-minded. Well, that
may be true, but that is human character. Rizal was not a perfect person,” De Viana said.
SOURCE: https://varsitarian.net/news/20111004/rizals_retraction_truth_vs_myth

REASONING FOR MY VERDICT

These proofs prove only one point that there was one or another form of retraction by Dr. Jose
Rizal. And even if all these are somehow made up or all propaganda by the Spanish government.
As per my analysis the only reason that they would do this is to tarnish and harm Dr. Jose Rizal’s
legacy, and as we all know Rizal is our national hero and he is respected by the vast majority of
Filipinos so despite him retracting or being framed to have retracted one thing is for sure the
Spanish did not affect the respect and the love for the famed Rizal and his works.