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CASE STUDY

1st Yr. BSA

DID RIZAL RETRACT?


INTRODUCTION
The letter, dated December 29, 1896, was said to have been signed by the National Hero

himself. Rizal retracted because the church would not allow his marriage to Josephine Bracken

unless he retracted his masonic affiliation.

“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 – The Retraction Letter.

BODY
The three main issues concerning the retraction was Rizal retracted his masonic

affiliation, Rizal wrote and signed the retraction and Rizal’s marriage to Josephine.

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

(Nombrado 2019).
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.

The reason behind this account, was the arrival of josephine bracken as he fell in love

with her, he wanted to marry this woman according to the cannon law. However, the guide of

bracken and her step father, Manuela Orlac, objected the plan of Rizal, the guide stated that Rizal

cannot do so unless he signs a profession of faith to the Catholic Church. So, this means he

would really write a retraction formula by then which would be checked by the archbishop of

Cebu. but according to Professor agustin Craig, his close friend father obach, the priest in dapitan

shared to him that Rizal realizing "late" that this retraction was the one thing that friars has been

waiting to get from him so he hurriedly reclaims the letter as obach was already set to send the

mail to the archbishop of Cebu. Within this argument, it can be concluded that some way or

another, Rizal did really retract just in order to marry Bracken by the canon law (Nombrado,

2019).

The act of retraction is established because while still in Dapitan the condition imposed

on Rizal was: “No retraction, no marriage.” Father Balaguer, the priest who had married them

testified under oath that: At 6 o’clock in the morning of Dec. 30, Josephine Bracken and one of

Rizal’s sisters, arrived crying bitterly. With the knowledge of the warden of the Fort, I proceeded

to the marriage of Rizal and Josephine.

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.“

Personally, I did not believe he retracted, but some documents that was purchased by the

Philippine government from Spain in the mid-1990s, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila,”

showed some interesting points about the retraction, said Jose Victor Torres, professor at the

History department of the De La Salle University (Ukhung, 2012).

 It was supposed to have been signed by Jose Rizal moments before his death. There were

many witnesses, most of them Jesuits. The document only surfaced for public viewing on May

13, 1935. It was found by Fr. Manuel A. Gracia at the Catholic hierarchy’s archive in Manila.

But the original document was never shown to the public, only reproductions of it.

However, Fr. Pio Pi, a Spanish Jesuit, reported   that as early as 1907, the retraction of Rizal was

copied verbatim and published in Spain, and reprinted in Manila. Fr. Gracia, who found the

original document, also copied it verbatim. In both reproductions, there were conflicting versions

of the text. Add to this the date of the signing was very clear in the original Spanish document

which Rizal supposedly signed. The date was “December 29, 1890.” (Ukhung, 2012)

CONCLUSION
It was argued that Rizal retracted in order to save his family from further persecution, to

give Josephine Bracken a legal status as his wife and to assure reforms from the Spanish

government. No, Rizal did not retract. Although there were many opinions and evidences

presented by various authors as to whether Rizal did or did not retract. Nonetheless, until now

there is no proof or any justification to end the debate. Rizal had a goal and principle. Rizal did

not fight the Catholic religion; he fought those who abused that religion and Rizal was not
against the Catholic religion but was against the manner the Catholic religion was practiced by

the friars in the Philippines during his time.

Surely, we must put the question of retraction to rest, though Rizal is a hero, whether he

retracted or not, we must investigate if he really did a turn-around. If he did not, and the

documents were forgeries, then somebody has to pay for trying to deceive a nation.

REFERENCES
Electronic Devices
RIZAL RETRACTION
https://www.scribd.com/presentation/409661621/RIZAL-RETRACTION-pptx

Rizal’s retraction: Truth vs Myth

https://varsitarian.net/news/20111004/rizals_retraction_truth_vs_myth

Did Jose Rizal Retract?

https://puchikamalucho.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/did-jose-rizal-retract/

The Rizal Retraction and other cases

https://nhcp.gov.ph/the-rizal-retraction-and-other-cases/

Phil History

https://prezi.com/p/_fudy_-mzcaj/phil-history/?fallback=1

Journals

Analysis Rizal’s Retraction

http://www.joserizal.ph/rt03.html

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