RETRACTION

OF RIZAL
 José Rizal, in full José
Protasio Rizal Mercado y
Alonso Realonda, (born June
19, 1861, Calamba, Philippines
—died December 30, 1896,
Manila), patriot, physician, and
man of letters who was an
inspiration to the Philippine
 nationalist movement.
The son of a prosperous landowner,
Rizal was educated in Manila and at
the University of Madrid. A brilliant
medical student, he soon committed
himself to the reform of Spanish
rule in his home country, though he
never advocated Philippine
independence. Most of his writing
was done in Europe, where he
resided between 1882 and 1892.
 In 1887 Rizal published his first novel, Noli
me tangere (The Social Cancer), a passionate
exposure of the evils of Spanish rule in the 
Philippines. A sequel, El
filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed),
established his reputation as the leading
spokesman of the Philippine reform
movement. He published an annotated
 edition (1890; reprinted 1958) of Antonio
Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, hoping
to show that the native people of the
Philippines had a long history before the
coming of the Spaniards.
 He became the leader of the 
Propaganda Movement, contributing
numerous articles to its newspaper, 
La Solidaridad, published in 
Barcelona. Rizal’s political program
included integration of the Philippines
as a province of Spain, representation
in the Cortes (the Spanish
parliament), the replacement of
Spanish friars by Filipino priests,
freedom of assembly and expression,
and equality of Filipinos and
Spaniards before the law.
 Rizal returned to the
Philippines in 1892. He
founded a nonviolent-
reform society, the 
Liga Filipina, in Manila, and
was deported to Dapitan in
northwest Mindanao.
 He remained in exile
for the next four years.
In 1896 the Katipunan,
a Filipino nationalist 
secret society, revolted
against Spain.
 Although he had no
connections with that
organization and he had had
no part in the insurrection,
Rizal was arrested and tried
for sedition by the military.
 Found guilty, he was publicly
executed by a firing squad in
Manila. His martyrdom convinced
Filipinos that there was no 
alternative to independence from
Spain. On the eve of his execution,
while confined in Fort Santiago,
Rizal wrote “Último adiós” (“Last
Farewell”), a masterpiece of 19th-
century Spanish verse.
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.
 THE ACCOUNT OF FATHER PIO PI
VIDAL, SUPERIOR OF THE JESUITS
IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 1896 WAS
THE ONLY DETAILED ACCOUNT
ABOUT THE RETRACTION. HIS
ACCOUNT WAS PUBLISHED IN
MANILA IN 1909 IN LA MUERTE
CRISTIANA DEL DOCTOR RIZAL
AND HE CONFIRMED THIS
ACCOUNT IN A NOTARIAL ACT
SIGNED IN BARCELONA, APRIL 7,
1917.
 THE RETRACTION
CONTAINS TWO
SIGNIFICANT POINTS:
(1.) THE REJECTION OF
MASONRY AND (2.)
REPUDIATION OF TWO
THINGS
 FATHER CAVANNA PROVIDES
THREE STAGES OF THE
RETRACTION: (A) STAGE OF
“CONCEALED ATTACKS” WHICH
LASTED FOR TWELVE YEARS
AFTER RIZAL’S DEATH. (B) STAGE
OF “OPEN ATTACKS” WHICH
LASTED FROM 1908-1935; (C)
STAGE OF “MAJOR AND MINOR
WORKS ABOUT RIZAL” WHICH IS
FROM 1935 UNTIL THE PRESENT.
 Father manuel a. Garcia, the
archdiocesan archivist,
“discovered” the actual document
of retraction on may 18, 1935
while he was busily sorting pile of
documents in their new fireproof
vault. The Philippine herald
released the news about the
retraction letter on June 16, 1935.
The major arguments for the retraction: 1.) the
retraction document is considered the chief
witness to the reality of the retraction itself; 2.)
the testimony of the press at the time of the
event, of “eye witness”, and other ”qualified
witnesses”; 3.) the “acts of faith, hope, and
charity reportedly recited and signed by dr.
rizal as attested by “witnesses” and a signed
prayer book; 4.) the acts of piety performed by
rizal during his last hours as testified by
“witnesses”; 5.) HIS ROMAN CATHOLIC
MARRIAGE TO JOSEPHINE BRACKEN AS
ATTESTED TO BY “WITNESSES”.
 The retraction document is
said to be a forgery because
of the following reasons: 1.)
the matter of the handwriting;
2.) the principles of textual
criticism; 3.) the content is in
part strangely worded; 4.) the
confession of “the forger”.
SHOULD FEEL BOUND TO ALLOW
ITS OTHER “DOCUMENTS”
PERTAINING TO RIZAL’S CASE TO BE
INVESTIGATED; 4.) THE STORY
CONCERNING THE “FORGER”
SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED
FURTHER; 5.) LET THERE BE A
MORATORIUM ON FURTHER DEBATE
AND GREATER ATTENTION GIVEN
TO THE REST OF RIZAL’S LIFE AND
THOUGHT.