03retraction of Jose Rizal

RETRACTION OF JOSE RIZAL
Learning objectives:
– To assess the claims about Rizal’s retraction.

– To validate those opposing ideas by looking at the sources.
– To interpret your own understanding of the situation.
JOSE RIZAL
– Is identified as a hero of the revolution for his writings that center on liberating Filipino minds to
contribute to creating the Filipino nation.
– The great volume of Rizal’s lifework was Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
Rizal’s Retraction (Translated from the document found by Fr. Manuel Garcia)
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. I believe and I confess whatever she teaches and I submit to
whatever she demands. I abominate Masonry, as the enemy which is of the church, and as a society
prohibited by the church. The diocesan prelate may, as the superior ecclesiastical authority, make public
this spontaneous manifestation of mine in order to repair the scandal in which my acts may have caused
and so that God and people may pardon me.
Manila 29 of December of 1896
Jose Rizal
The Balaguer Testimony
– He was one of the Jesuit priests who visited Rizal during his last hours in Fort Santiago. And
claimed that he managed to persuade Rizal to denounce masonry and return to the Catholic fold.
– Since it is the only testimony of allegedly a primary sources account that Rizal ever wrote a
retraction document, it has been used to urge the authenticity of the document.
The Cuerpo de Vigilancia Testimony
– Another eyewitness account has surfaced in 2016, through the research of Professor Rene R.
Escalante. In his research, documents of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia included a report on the last
hours of Rizal, written by Federico Moreno.
Cuerpo de Vigilancia’s Account on Last hours of Rizal
– The agent of Cuerpo stationed in Fort Santiago to report on the events during the day in prison of
the accused Jose Rizal.
– At 7:50 am December 29, 1896, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his counsel, Señor
Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclara.
– At approximately 9, the Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything.
He replied that at the moment he only wanted a prayer book, which was brought to him shortly
by Father March.
– Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit fathers, March,
Vilaclara, regarding religious matters, it seems.
– At 12:30, Rizal asked them to leave for him to write for a long time by himself.
– At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him what he had written.
Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señor del Fresno and Assistant of the Plaza, Señor
Maure were informed. They entered death row and together with Rizal signed the document that
the accused had written.
– At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison dressed in mourning. Only the
former entered the chapel, followed by a military chaplain.
Fr. Balaguer and Cuerpo’s Testimony
– The two accounts corroborate with each other about the existence of the retraction document.
DIFFERENT ANALYSIS
Rafael Palma’s Critical Analysis
– He was a lawyer, writer, educator, and politician.
– He was the author of “Biografia de Rizal” a work on the life of the national hero.
– The story of Rizal’s alleged retraction is found in Chapters 32 and 33.
– According to Palma, the only testimony that might be considered impartial is that of Taviel de
Andrade, the defense counsel of Rizal.
– The testimony of de Andrade however is just a mere hearsay.

ACTS TEND TO DEMONSTRATE THAT RIZAL WAS NOT RECONCILED WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
By: Palma
1. The document of retraction was kept secret so that no one except the authorities was able to see
it at that time.
2. When the family of Rizal asked for the original of said document or a copy of it as well as a copy
of the certificate of canonical marriage with Josephine Bracken, both petition was denied.
3. Rizal’s burial was kept secret, the cadaver having been delivered to the members of a Catholic
association friendly to the friars instead of being delivered to the family who had claimed it.
4. In spite of what Rizal meant to the Filipinos and of what his conversion meant, no masses were
said for his soul or funeral held by Catholics.
5. Notwithstanding (the claim) that Rizal was reconciled with the church, he was not buried in the
Catholic cemetery but in the ground without any cross or stone to mark his grave. Only the
diligence of the family was able to identify the spot where he was buried.
6. The entry in the book burials of the interment of Rizal’s body is not made on the page with those
buried on December 30, 1896, where there were many as six entries, but on a special page
wherein appear those buried by special orders of the authorities. Thus, Rizal figures on a page
between a man who burned to death and who could not be identified and another who died by
suicide.
7. There was no moral motive for the conversion. Did he not realize that to do so was to be a
renegade to his own history?
In short, Rizal’s conversion was a pious fraud to make the people believe that that man broke down and
succumbed before the church which he had fought.
The Archbishop was interested in his conversion for political motives, and the Jesuit lent themselves as
his instrument.
Sources:
Readings in Philippine History by John Lee P. Candelaria and Veronica C. Alporha
Batis Sources in Philippine History by Jose Victor Torres
Adrian De Lumen, LPT, MM

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RETRACTION OF JOSE RIZAL

– To assess the claims about Rizal’s retraction.

Manila 29 of December of 1896

The Balaguer Testimony

The Cuerpo de Vigilancia Testimony

Fr. Balaguer and Cuerpo’s Testimony

Rafael Palma’s Critical Analysis

– He was a lawyer, writer, educator, and politician.

– The story of Rizal’s alleged retraction is found in Chapters 32 and 33.

– The testimony of de Andrade however is just a mere hearsay.

Readings in Philippine History by John Lee P. Candelaria and Veronica C. Alporha

Batis Sources in Philippine History by Jose Victor Torres

Adrian De Lumen, LPT, MM

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