Evidences: Rizal Did not retract

1. The Documents of retraction were kept secret, only copies of it were provided to the
newspapers. It was not made in public until 1935. As said by Lauron (2015), quote on quote,
"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." If Rizal really retracted, why there
is no retraction paper available in 1896? the day he was executed. in fact, When Rizal’s
family requested for the original copy, it was said that it was lost.

Source:

Lauron, D. (2015, September 6). The Rizal Retraction and other cases. National Historical
Commission of the Philippines. https://nhcp.gov.ph/the-rizal-retraction-and-other-cases/

2. If Rizal really retracted, why there is no effort was made to save Rizal from the death
penalty. The catholic itself should prevent Rizal execution, right? Because he retracted.

3. Retraction itself is out of character. He did not mention any retraction to his last writings or
letters to people closest to him. No retraction was mentioned in his masterpiece mi ultimo
adios and his farewell letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt.

Mi Ultimo Adiós (My Final Farewell)

photo from facebook.com/Ambeth-R-Ocampo

Rizal's farewell letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt (English translation)

“My dear Brother, When you receive this letter, I shall be dead by then. Tomorrow at seven, I shall be
shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. I am going to die with a tranquil conscience. Adieu,
my best, my dearest friend, and never think ill of me! Fort Santiago, 29 December 1896 José Rizal
Regards to the whole family, to Sra. Rosa, Loleng, Conradito, and Federico. I leave a book for you as
my remembrance” (Last days of Rizal and his burial | Presidential Museum and library, n.d.).

photo from facebook.com/Ambeth-R-Ocampo

Sources:

Facebook - Ambeth R. Ocampo. (2020, December 29). Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/unsupportedbrowser

Last days of Rizal and his burial | Presidential Museum and Library. (n.d.). Malacañan Palace.
http://malacanang.gov.ph/last-days-of-rizal-and-his-burial/

4. Burial was kept on secret. No proper burial were made. On dec 1896, Rizals remain were
buried in the outside paco semetery with an unmarked grave. Rizal’s sister, Narcisa,
searched suburban graveyards for where Jose Rizal was buried. She eventually discovered
that he was buried in Paco Park (Last days of Rizal and his burial | Presidential Museum and
library, n.d.). Also, No masses were said for his soul or funeral held by Catholics. If rizal really
really back off with his word against the catholic, why there was no proper burial? He would
have been an example for the cause of the friars; he would have been given a decent
Christian burial, not buried like a dead dog outside Paco Cemetery.
 5. There is no marriage contract. Vicente Balaguer, S. J., claimed that he performed the
canonical marriage between 6:00 – 6:15 AM of December 30, 1896 in the presence of one of
the Rizal sisters. The Rizal family denied that any of the Rizal sisters were there that fateful
morning. Dr. Jose Rizal was martyred at 7:03 AM. 2. Nobody had reported seeing Ms.
Josephine Bracken in the vicinity of Fort Santiago in the morning of the execution. 3.
Considering the time it would take for the three priests (Fr. Jose Vilaclara, Fr. Estanislao
March, and Fr. Vicente Balaguer) to negotiate the expanse of the walk to give spiritual care
to the condemned Dr. Jose Rizal, why is it that only Fr. Balaguer could “describe” a wedding?
Furthermore, where were Fr. Vilaclara and Fr. March to corroborate the occurrence of a
marriage ceremony? Or was there really even one at all?

Source: Cleo, G. (n.d.). Ways-to-Proving-that-Rizal-Did-Not-Retract-Gingco.docx - PDFCOFFEE.COM.

Pdfcoffee.Com. https://pdfcoffee.com/ways-to-proving-that-rizal-did-not-retract-gingcodocx-pdf-
free.html

6. Rizal's behavior before his execution is out of his character and belief. Even if we haven’t
met Jose Rizal personally it is evident that Rizal’s character gives you an idea in the
course of his writings. Numerous of his works was all about the cruelty and tyranny of
Spaniards like books such as the Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer) and the El
Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed). All of those include friars ,all of those submit directly
to the Catholic Church. Just think about it, would Rizal just simply abandon all his work of
art that took most of his time and hard work in just for retraction? It would be like
vomiting of what you just had eaten and swallow it again. We can see right through his
works, Rizal is a man of one word; he had never distorted his thoughts, and never will be.

Photo from Philippine Folklife Museum Foundation | San Francisco, Ca.

Source: Admin, A. (2014, November 27). Exhibit-Rizal-Books-Noli-Fili. Philippine Folklife Museum

Foundation | San Francisco, Ca. https://philippinefolklifemuseum.org/exhibit-rizal-books-noli-fili/
Did Retracted

Answer (2)– Regarding to your argument, the catholic should prevent rizal execution. Yes, it is clear
that there is no one or news about preventing rizal from execution. However, The cathlics cannot
prevent the execution of rizal because Following Rizal’s return to Manila, rizal was charged with
rebellion and starting an illegal society. Witnesses testified to his involvement with the rebels and he
was convicted by a military court (José Rizal | Infopedia, 2010)

Source: José Rizal | Infopedia. (2010, January 31). SingaporeInfopedia.

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1642_2010-01-31.html

Answer (5)

With reagrds to you argument of NO marriage contract. Yes, father balleguer statement is vague.
However there is new witness, which is Moreno. He is as neither a member of the Catholic hierarchy
nor was he a Mason. He reported that right after Rizal signed the alleged retraction letter, he read
the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity as well as the Prayers for the Departing Soul. While kneeling in
front of the altar, he also read his prayer book in the company of Frs. Vilaclara and March. Moreno
also reported that in the early morning of the following day, Rizal and Josephine Bracken got
married. The ceremony was done in articulo mortis (at the point of death), and there were no
sponsors or witnesses present. Moreover, Moreno did not mention that the couple signed a
marriage contract. This should explain why this document remains unaccounted for until today, and
therefore people should stop looking for it. All these details in Moreno’s report are indirect forms of
proof that Rizal retracted. Archbishop Nozaleda and Fr. Pio Pi’s instructions were clear that Rizal
should not be given the sacraments unless he retracted his anti-Catholic beliefs. The fact that the
marriage took place is a confirmation that Rizal re-embraced his Catholic faith. Lastly, Moreno also
reported that minutes before Rizal was brought to Luneta, he heard Mass, confessed to Fr. March,
received Holy Communion, and kissed the image of the Blessed Mother. All these acts suggest, and
may be considered evidence supporting the claim, that Rizal died a Catholic.

Source: South East Asian Studies, N. (2020, December 14). Vol. 8, No. 3, Rene ESCALANTE | CSEAS
Journal, Southeast Asian Studies. CSEAS Journal, Southeast Asian Studies |. https://englishkyoto-
seas.org/2019/12/vol-8-no-3-rene-escalante/