Did Rizal Retract?

MIKA:

Jose Rizal is identified as a hero of the revolution for his writings that center on ending
colonialism and liberating Filipino minds to contribute to creating the Filipino nation. The great
volume of Rizal's lifework was committed to this end, particularly the more influential ones,
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. His essays vilify not the Catholic religion, but the friars,
the main agents of injustice in the Philippine society.

It is understandable; therefore, that any piece of writing from Rizal that recants everything he
wrote against the friars and the Catholic Church in the Philippines could deal heavy damage to
his image as a prominent Filipino revolutionary. Such document purportedly exists, allegedly
signed by Rizal a few hours before his execution. This document, referred to as "The
Retraction," declares Rizal's belief in the Catholic faith, and retracts everything he wrote against
the Church.

A.C:

Primary Source: Rizal's Retraction

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. I believe and I confess whatever she
teaches and I submit to whatever she demands. I abominate Masonry, as the enemy which is of
the Church, and as a Society prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate may, as the
Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this spontaneous manifestation of mine in order
to repair the scandal which my acts may have caused and so that God and people may pardon
me.

Manila 29 of December of 1896

Jose Rizal

There are four iterations of the texts of this retraction:

CRISTALYN:

1. The first published in La Voz Española and Diario de Manila on the day of execution, 30
Decemeber 1896.

2. The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, from an anonymous writer who was later on
revealed to be Fr. Vicente in the magazine La Juventud, a few months after the execution,
 14 February Balaguer. However, the "original" text was only found in the archdiocesan
archives on 18 May 1935, after almost four decades of disappearance.

3. The Balaguer Testimony

Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because only eyewitness account of the
writing of the document exists-that of the Jesuit friar Fr. Vicente Balaguer. According to his
testimony, Rizal woke up several times, confessed four times, attended a Mass, received
communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which seemed out of character. But since it is the only
testimony of allegedly a "primary" account that Rizal ever wrote a retraction document, it has
been used to argue the authenticity of the document.

4. The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia

Another eyewitness account surfaced in 2016, through the research of Professor Rene R.
Escalante. In his research, documents of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia included a report on the last
hours of Rizal, written by Federico Moreno. The report details the statement of the Cuerpo de
Vigilancia to Moreno.

Primary Source: Eyewitness Account of the Last Hours of Rizal

Most Illustrious Sir, the agent of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia stationed in Fort Santiago to report on
the events during the (illegible] day in prison of the accused Jose Rizal, informs me on this date
of the following:

At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his counsel, Señor
Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclara, At the urgings of the former and moments
after entering, he was served a light breakfast. At approximately 9, the Assistant of the Plaza,
Señor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything. He replied that at the moment he only wanted a
prayer book, which was brought to him shortly by Father March.

Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit fathers,
March and Vilaclara, regarding religious matters, it seems. It appears that these two presented
him with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he refused to sign. They argued about
the matter until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken. Afterwards he
asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself.

At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him what he had
written. Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señor del Fresno and the Assistant of the
Plaza, Señor Maure, were informed. They entered death row and together with Rizal signed the
document that the accused had written.
At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison ... dressed in mourning.
Only the former entered the chapel, followed by a military chaplain whose name I cannot
ascertain. Donning his formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the artillery, the nuptials of Rizal
and the woman who had been his lover were performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis).
After embracing him she left, flooded with tears.

This account corroborates the existence of the retraction document, giving it credence.
However, nowhere in the account was Fr. Balaguer mentioned, which makes the friar a mere
secondary source to the writing of the document.
The retraction of Rizal remains to this day, a controversy; many scholars, however, agree that the
document does not tarnish the heroism of Rizal. His relevance remained solidified to Filipinos
and pushed them to continue the revolution, which eventually resulted in independence in 1898.

Rizal's Connection to the Katipunan is undeniable-in fact, the precursor of the Katipunan as an
organization is the La Liga Filipina, an organization Rizal founded, with Andres Bonifacio as
one of its members. But La Liga Filipina was short-lived as the Spaniards exiled Rizal to
Dapitan. Former members decided to band together to establish the Katipunan a few days after
Rizal's exile on 7 July 1892.

Rizal may not have been officially part of the Katipunan, but the Katipuneros showed great
appreciation of his work toward the same goals. Out of the 28 members of the leadership of the
Katipunan (known as the Kataas-taasang Sanggunian ng Katipunan) from 1892 to 1896, 13 were
former members of La Liga Filipina. Katipuneros even used Rizal's name as a password.

In 1896, the Katipuneros decided to inform Rizal of their plans to launch the revolution, and sent
Pio Valenzuela to visit Rizal in Dapitan. Valenzuela's accounts of his meeting with Rizal have
been greatly doubted by many scholars, but according to him, Rizal objected to the plans, saying
that doing so would be tantamount to suicide since it would be difficult to fight the Spaniards
who had the advantage of military resources. He added that the leaders of the Katipunan must do
everything they could to prevent the spilling of Filipino blood. Valenzuela informed Rizal that
the revolution could inevitably break out if the Katipunan were to be discovered by the
Spaniards. Rizal advised Valenzuela that the Katipunan should first secure the support of
wealthy Filipinos to strengthen their cause, and suggested that Antonio Luna be recruited to
direct the military movement of the revolution.

References:

Candelaria, John Lee & Alporha, Veronica C (2018).Did Rizal Retract? Reading in Philippine
History pp. 62-65