The Retraction of Riz

al
One of the most intriguing of all was the issues of Jose Rizal was his alleged
retraction which was all about his reversion to the Catholic Faith and all other
issues linked to it such as his marriage to Josephine Bracken. That issue was
claimed to be true by the Roman Catholic defenders but asserted to be deceptive
by anti-retractonists. They claim that the retraction document is a forgery, but
handwriting experts concluded a long time ago that it is genuine. Rafael Palma’s
opus on Rizal, titled “Biografia de Rizal” is so anti-Catholic that the Church
successfully opposed its publication using government funds. In an article
authored by Romberto Poulo, Rizal’s affiliation in Masonry was accounted to have
caused drastic change to his religious ideas. It was in the moment Rizal set foot
on European soil when he was exposed to a great deal of distinctions between
what was happening to his country, the discriminations, abuses, partialities,
injustices, and some other things made to cause sufferings   to his countrymen,
and what was the actual scene of the European nations. He observed that Europe
was a lot more different compared to the Philippines in terms of way of life,
attitudes towards Roman Catholicism, and most importantly, the freedom all the
citizens enjoy.
• Surely whether Rizal died a Catholic or a
n apostate adds or detracts nothing fro
m his greatness as a Filipino.  It is becaus
e of what he did and what he was that w
e revere Rizal. Catholic or Mason, Rizal is
still Rizal: the hero who courted death “t
o prove to those who deny our patriotis
m that we know how to die for our duty
and our beliefs”