.

Freemasonry - one of the world’s oldest and biggest non-sectarian and non- governmental
group. It teaches principles through contribution in their ceremonies and activities. Members are
likely to be of high ethical standing and are encouraged to express openly about Freemasonry.

These freemasons have symbolic names among them, Rizal having a symbolic name of
“Dimasalang” which means untouchable was designated as an Honorable and Venerable Master
in the said fraternity.
His association with this group means that he abolishes his connection or involvement in the
Catholic religion, from its practices to its culture and beliefs.
Many native Filipinos had been shock with the move of Rizal, with his mother, Teodora Alonzo
who was so devoted to Catholism, and not just Teodora but even the family as a whole were
very dedicated to the said religion. But still Jose Rizal decided to separate himself from the belief

and rituals of his family and his nation.

This letter of retraction was said to be Jose P. Rizal’s last letter to his people saying his
abomination to the Freemasonry organization, as an enemy of his church. Declaring himself still
as a catholic as his religion of which he was born.

A PLAIN UNADORNED FACT OF HISTORY

Because of what he sees as the strength these direct evidence have in the light of the historical
method, in contrast with merely circumstantial evidence, UP professor emeritus of history
Nicolas Zafra called the retraction "a plain unadorned fact of history."
Guzmán attributes the denial of retraction to "the blatant disbelief and stubbornness" of some
Masons.[56] To explain his retraction, Guzman said that the factors were the following:
(a) the long discussion and debate which appealed to reason and logic that he had with Fr.
Balaguer,
(b) the visits of his mentors and friends from the Ateneo, and
(c) the grace of God due the numerous prayers of religious communities

Rizal’s Interest on God’s Word

As written in the Jose Rizal University’s website, joserizal.ph, during his last hours at 5:00 –
6:15am of the day of his death, after he takes his breakfast, he was said to read the bible and
meditated it. Which may seem to support this Catholic Rizalist were saying. This act of Rizal may
seem to show Rizal being interested with the bible, may implicate that Rizal are able to embrace
the teachings of the church. Also, at 6:15 – 7:00am, as Rizal was about to be executed, before
the sounds of guns has been heard, Rizal utter this words “It is finished”. These are the words
that Jesus Christ spoke when he was about to experience death in the cross (John 19:30). These
manifestations of Rizal towards the teachings of the Bible before his execution had allowed the
mind of some historians to believe that Jose Rizal retracted.
RIZAL NEVER LOST HIS BELIEF IN THE DIVINE
as is evident in the correspondence between him and Fr. Pablo Pastells, a Jesuit, undertaken
while Rizal was in exile in Dapitan. As quoted by Austin Coates in his biography of RizaI, in a letter
dated April 4, 1893, he writes, after affirming his faith in God. Whee in, In short, Rizal expresses
elegantly a healthy and profound skepticism towards the institutional Church’s insistence on
unthinking obedience. No wonder they wanted to get rid of him. Here was their most brilliant
adversary, a brown-skinned urbane and cosmopolitan intellectual Indio whom they could never
hope to equal in the court of reason, or any unbiased court, for that matter. Getting that
retraction, or claiming to have gotten it, would have sweetened their revenge. Of course, from
Rizal’s perspective, this would have added insult to (fatal) injury.

Fr. Villa Clara had convinced Jose Rizal to retract from his Masonry.

I had to remind him that I believed he was not properly disposed to receive the sacraments of
the Church; that we had to talk first about his ideas and errors which, if he held on to them, he
ought to retract. He then began to talk respectfully of God, of the Sacred Heart, of Holy
Scripture; that he was praying and asking God to let him know His will in order to carry it out.

Only Holy Scripture, he told me. In this, he was apparently a Protestant. I then told him I was
surprised that a man as talented as he was should apply to a norm so false and so baseless. With
a simple observation, I made him admit the inconsistency of the Protestant rule of Faith.

Basis for religion and philosophy: As though forced by, the power of logical thinking, he admitted
to his only criterion was reason which God had given as his all-embracing guide.

Possible Reasons why Rizal Retracted

- First is to save his family from being oppressed and persecuted by Spanish friars. Rizal may have
been said that he encountered the problems of signing the retraction or of having his relatives
followed by further persecutions. Since he anticipated his death would end the harassment of his
nation, the letter may have appeared to him to be the only tactic of attaining his purpose. ------
=Second, so that the Spanish friars would allow Rizal and Josephine to have legal rights as a
married couple. He wanted to experience this marriage towards Josephine even though he will
be executed still.
=Lastly, to help church in gaining back the dignity they have lost, when Rizal had harmed them.
Rizal did not want to damage the Church, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, but to
eradicate the disease which caused great damage between the church and state in the
Philippines.

Burial Place of Rizal

“He (Rizal) retracted. He died as a Catholic, and a proof that he died as a Catholic was he was
buried inside the sacred grounds of Paco Cemetery,” said De Viana, who compared the martyr
with Apolinario Mabini, a revolutionary and free mason who was buried in a Chinese cemetery.”
(De Viana. 2011). Only those people that are died Catholics are buried in the Paco Cemetery. It
was the cemetery of the Spanish friars and the Filipino Catholics. If Rizal really did not retract,
why is his body are on these burial place? This may seem a supporting evident that Rizal died as
a Catholic of the reason that no one on that place died as a Catholic. The evidence speaks for
itself and moves on to the question on Rizal’s character as some argue that the retraction is not
in line with Rizal’s mature beliefs and personality.

Rizal and Fr. Obach’s conversation

He believed that they had successfully persuaded Rizal to turn back away from his errors: “I am
convinced that Rizal is now tired and wants to retract, but his pride strongly holds him …I think
he will immediately break away from everything and he would be an excellent Christian.” Fr.
Obach continues: “…

His Marriage towards Josephine Bracken

Father Balaguer swears that he married José and Josephine about fifteen minutes before the
time for the execution. But the marriage certificate could not be seen in the Manila Cathedral
nor in the Registry of Fort Santiago where it should have been place. This raised suspicions.
Lucia, the sister of Rizal, who went with Josephine to the chapel that morning, saw a priest
activity, but said she did not see the wedding ceremony.
=Other fact supports the marriage report. Rizal wrote in a copy of The Imitation of Christ, by
Thomas a Kempis, these words: To my dear and unhappy wife. The obvious answer might be that
Rizal had considered Josephine as his wife since they first held hands in Dapitan a year and a half
before, but in no letter he did not call her "wife" before this time.
=The strongest circumstantial evidence for the wedding comes from Rizal's sister Maria. When
she went to say farewell the last night, Jose said to her:
"Maria, I am going to marry Josephine. I know you all oppose it, especially you, yourself. But I
want to give Josephine a name. Besides you know the verse in the Bible, The sins of the fathers
shall be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation.' I do not want them to
persecute you or her for what I have done."

Rizal, not an Anti-cleric

One factor which made Rizal convert, according to my opinion, is he was never a true, anti-
clerical. Although he learned about the French style of anti-clericalism. He did not favor it, and
probably was more inclined toward the American style of Church-State separation, which simply
left the Church and State in its separate spheres of influence and no persecution of the Church
by the government.
But by analyzing Rizal’s ideas on the subject, Rizal may have become anti-clerical, but he did not
favor of going into the extent of persecuting religious belief, for he subscribed so much into the
idea of freedom of conscience. That is an indication that he never fully accepted the anti-clerical
masonic beliefs, and probably abhorred the persecution of believers by masonic-dominated
governments in Europe and Latin America. With this, I believe, would pave the way for Rizal’s
eventual return to the Faith when contronted with the fact of death.

END PROCESS BC PERSONAL CRISIS

Joaquin, Nick, Rizal in Saga, Philippine National Centennial Commission, 1996:""It seems clear
now that he did retract, that he went to confession, heard mass, received communion, and was
married to Josephine, on the eve of his death". ^ "That is a matter for handwriting experts, and
the weight of expert opinion is in favor of authenticity. It is nonsense to say that the retraction
does not prove Rizal's conversion; the language of the document is unmistakable."[51] ^ The
retraction, Javier de Pedro contends, is the end of a process which started with a personal crisis as
Rizal finished the Fili.