ERIK JOHN M.

MIL BSECE-4A RIZAL 001

Reflection Paper

The article was written by Raissa Robles and has a title of "Rizal’s Novels would
be banned today if Catholic Church succeeded in 1956." The article explains how the
Catholic church opposes the Rizal Law because the novels written by Dr. Jose Rizal is
contradicting to the teachings of the Catholic Church and may cause damage to the
beliefs/faith of the students and youth. The member of the church finds different passages
that disparage the divine worship and asserts that it also contains words that are against
the Catholic Dogma and morals of the church. Besides these, Raissa Robles stated
possibilities that may occur if the Law has been banned and the history of the country in
the time of Spanish era may be forgotten.
As a Christian and as a student as well, I have observed positive and negative
impacts of adhering to the request of the Catholic Church to stop Congress from requiring
all schools from including the novels of Dr. Jose Rizal in the curriculum.
Upon reading the Statement of the Philippine Hierarchy on the Novels of Dr. Jose
Rizal, I have encountered many positive points on their request which I believe are truly
significant for the purpose of preserving and upholding Christian faith. One of which was
their statement on the concluding paragraph saying:
“We cannot permit the eternal salvation of immortal souls, souls for which we are
answerable before the throne of Divine Justice, to be compromised for the sake of any
human good, no matter how great it may appear to be.”
This statement summarizes the concern of the church in general and it speaks to
me personally. It implies that they (the church) are not willing to compromise the possible
consequences of the novels’ influence on the faith of the students as salvation is the most
important above all, in spite of the fact that it could develop patriotism, which from a
Christian perspective, is a worldly concept. As a Christian, we believe that the worldly
things and situations are only temporary and what we most uphold is the weight and
effects of our acts on our salvation.
The novels also contain several passages that are against the teachings of the
Bible and the Church. Based on the Statement, the novels cast doubts on some general
concepts taught by the Church like the omnipotence of God, the existence of Hell and its
eternal torment, the concept of Trinity, and nature of Christ. Hence, if we would look at it
from this perspective, I would agree indeed that it would be beneficial for everyone to
choose the weight of their salvation over patriotism.
On the other hand, I if we would consider the cultural and historical significance of
the novels, I would also love the idea of having them in our curriculum. As Filipinos, it is
vital for us to understand and know our history by heart. We have to be knowledgeable
about our identity as it would help us understand who we are and what makes us distinct
from everybody else. We know that we have been through difficult times during the
dwelling of our colonizer, the Spaniards. Our ancestors fought a painful battle in order for
us to achieve or liberation. Concealing this kind of important artifact would invalidate and
disrespect the efforts of our heroes so that we could savor our independence.
Furthermore, literature can be used as a vessel to explore worlds that are beyond our
own, hence, concealing the novels would also mean depriving us of our right to recognize
and be immersed in the world that our heroes had lived, to feel the intense emotions they
had for our fellowmen and against the colonizers, and to somehow be one with them in
their battle.
Also, I believe that the criticisms on the novels are no longer relevant to our current
situation as its context is heavily based on condition of our country during their time. The
purpose of those novels is to express our people’s desire for political freedom and social
order during the reign and abuse of the Spaniards – a time when our people are deprived
of their liberty in their own country. Today, the church has a different role in the society
that is far from what Rizal had experienced in his short-lived life. People will be able to
understand the differences in the setting and distinguish what is relevant and what is not.
To conclude, both sides have genuine purposes and value in their respective
aspects. However, I am more inclined to upholding the cultural and historical significance
of the novels to us Filipinos, but it doesn’t mean I am neglecting my Christian faith. I am
still a Christian and being a learned student will not disregard my beliefs. I believe that if
one is truly committed to his faith, he shall not be easily swayed. As a Christian, it is his
responsibility to educate himself about the truth of the Bible and not base his faith on how
the people within the church or the church itself is acting. If the concern of the church is
the possible negative effect of the novels on how the students will perceive the church,
they can divert their efforts on establishing a church that is true to its roots and practices
its teachings for students to witness its nature firsthand and judge it themselves. After all,
we are rational beings who are capable of filtering ideas which we will oppose or adhere
to, based on our values and our own principles. If we value their faith genuinely, we should
know our ground regardless of any misleading ideas that will be thrown at us. If this would
be the case, then there will be no harm in allowing us students to explore the texts for
educational purposes, especially if it would develop our love for our nation.