THE GREAT DEBATE: THE RIZAL RETRACTION, GALIMBA

Slide: 4

As we're all aware of, Dr. José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda or widely known as
Dr. Jose Rizal (1861), is considered the country's national hero. He excelled in various fields
and became deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideals during his education in Europe. Rizal's
novels, "Noli Me Tangere" (Touch Me Not) and "El Filibusterismo" (The Reign of Greed),
exposed the injustices of Spanish colonial rule and sparked a movement for reform. He was
active in advocating for civil liberties and social justice, facing persecution from Spanish
authorities. Implicated in the Philippine Revolution, Rizal was executed in 1896, becoming a
martyr for the cause of independence. His writings and sacrifices earned him the title of national
hero, and his legacy continues to inspire Filipinos in their pursuit of freedom and progress.

Slide 5

Written by Ricardo P. Garcia (1958-2020) refers to a scholarly discussion or debate surrounding

the alleged retraction of Jose Rizal from his writings against the Catholic Church. This topic is
highly contentious and has been the subject of much historical analysis and debate. The debate
surrounding the Rizal retraction revolves around whether or not Jose Rizal, the Philippine
national hero, actually retracted his anti-Catholic writings before his execution in 1896.

So when we say retraction, it is an act of taking back a statement.

So what fueled the great debate? What are these retractions? And what really happened?

Slide 14:

Now moving on to “THE BEST EVIDENCE.”

EVENTS:

● Controversy on Rizal’s Retraction arose, it was practically and physically impossible to

find the precious documents.
● The first Rizal retraction letter was reportedly found in 1935. This letter, known as the
"first retraction," has been discovered and was kept a secret until further notice.
● The document was studied by Kalaw, in which Archbishop O’Doherty was not satisfied
and has requested Prof. H. Otley Beyer, Professor of Anthropology (UP), and curator of
the U.P. Museum of Archaeology, and a recognized handwriting expert to study and
examine Rizal’s Retraction document to decide whether it is genuine or not. When he
went to Archbishop’s Palace, A folder had been found, the documents filed in the
marriage file which contained 3 or 4 letters from Rizal in addition to the retraction,
 requesting marriage to Josephine Bracken and other letters refusing that marriage
unless he signed a retraction. From his 30 or 40 years of examination, he had concluded
that every word on that sheet of paper was written by Jose Rizal but of course except the
signatures of the other witnesses in the document. And that the whole document is in his
normal handwriting.

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● From the opinion of another handwriting expert, Dr. Jose I. del Rosario, he stated that
the following are perhaps the most salient individual characteristics:- used in the
identification between the handwriting of the retraction and the undisputed handwriting of
Dr. Jose Rizal in every aspect.
(read it)

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FINDINGS: All indications and symptoms show that it is a genuine, authentic old document,
written and signed by Dr. Jose Rizal, and there was nothing in it to indicate that it may be forged
or a spurious document.

QUESTIONS: How could Rizal retract his words, writings, and publications to his fading glory?
This may be what’s going on in everyone’s mind, which is if the retraction document is read, the
question is absurd.

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In the analysis of the author, the only thing he was sure of is that what Rizal retracted in this
document was his affiliation with Masonry, and his reason was that Masonry is the enemy of the
Church and as such was prohibited by the Church.

When we say he fought against the Catholic Church and that he was the bitterest enemy of the
Church, this is just partly true and partly false. It is not true that he fought against the Catholic
Church in general, but what he had fought against was Catholicism as practiced in the
Philippines.

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And lastly, let’s all look at Dr. Jose Rizal’s words.

"I wished to throw the missile against the friars; but as they made use of the rituals and
superstitions of a religion as a shield, I had to get rid of that shield in order to wound the enemy
that was hiding behind it. God should not be utilized as a shield and protector of abuses, nor
should religion be made use of for that purpose. What happens in the Philippines is horrible;
they abuse the name of religion to enrich their haciendas, to seduce an innocent girl, to de-
stroy an enemy, to disturb the peace of a married couple and rob a wife of her honor. Why
should I not fight religion like that when it is the basic cause of our miseries and tears? The
responsibility falls on those who abuse its name. Christ did the same thing with the religion of
his country when the Pharisees abused it."

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So in other words, Rizal did not fight the Catholic Religion to begin with; he fought those who
abused that religion. Rizal was not against the Catholic Religion, but against the manner the
religion was practiced by friars in the Philippines during the time. He even wrote a letter to his
opinion about Catholic Religion based on what he had seen across Europe. That he found
Christianity beautiful, sublime, divine; Catholicism attractive, poetic, the same Christianity,
poetized and beautiful, more beautiful than the insipid Protestantism. However, he had stated
also that the country folks of the Philippines do not know the difference between Christianity in
Europe and in our own country since they have suffered from the abuse of the people who are
ought to keep morality in the first place.

Despite all the controversies, opinions, forgery issues, and questions about the authenticity of
Rizal’s document, the Rizal Retraction stands unrefuted.