TAGUIG CITY UNIVERSITY

Gen. Santos Avenue, Cental Bicutan, Taguig City

College of Criminology

“ Retraction of Jose P. Rizal ”

By:
Fr. Vicente Balaguer and Rafael Palma

The fourth text appeared in El Imparcial on the day after Rizal's

execution; it is the short formula of the retraction. The first text was published
in La Voz Española and Diaro de Manila on the very day of Rizal's
execution, Dec. 30, 1896.

Dr. Jose Rizal was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death by a

Spanish court martial after being implicated as a leader of the Philippine
Revolution. 1On December 30, 1896, accounts exist that Rizal allegedly
retracted his masonic ideals and his writings reconverted to Catholicism
following several hours of persuasion by the Jesuit priests. A few hours
before he was shot, Rizal signed a document stating that he was a
Catholic and retracted all his writings against the church and the
document were as “The Retraction”. Moreover, Rizal’s retraction letter
was discovered by Father Manuel Garcia, C.M. in 1935 at the Catholic
hierarchy’s archive in Manila. The letter, dated December 29, 1896.
According to Fr. Balaguer, he and Fr. Vilaclara arrived in Rizal’s prison
cell around 10 o’clock in the morning on December 29, 1896. He
mentioned in his letter and affidavit that their encounter with Rizal
started with a discussion of some articles of Catholic faith. They debated
on issues such as the supremacy of faith over reason and the dogmatic
differences that divided Catholics and Protestants. They explained to
him that they could not administer the sacraments he needed without
him signing a retraction letter and making a profession of faith. The two
Jesuits left Rizal’s prison around lunchtime, with Rizal still undecided
over whether to sign the retraction letter or not. The Jesuits went
1
straight to the archbishop’s palace and informed their superiors of what
had transpired during their first meeting with Rizal. Fr. Balaguer and
Vilaclara returned to Rizal around 3 o’clock in the afternoon and tried
until sunset to persuade him to recant. They were still not able to
convince him to sign the retraction document. Their third meeting with
Rizal took place at 10 o’clock that night, and it was during this meeting
that they showed Rizal the two retraction templates Fr. Pi had given
them. According to Fr. Balaguer, Rizal found the first template
unacceptable because it was too long and its language and style were
not reflective of his personality. So Fr. Balaguer withdrew it and offered
the shorter one. Rizal did not sign it right away because he was
uncomfortable with the statement “I abominate Masonry as a society
reprobated by the Church.” Rizal wanted to emphasize that Philippine
Masonry was not hostile to Catholicism and that Masonry in London did
not require its members to renounce their faith. The Jesuits allowed
Rizal to revise the retraction template, and his final version read, “I
abominate Masonry as the enemy of the Church and reprobated by the
same Church” (Cavanna 1956, 9). After making other minor changes to
the draft, Rizal together withSeñor Fresno, chief of the picket, and Señor
Moure, adjutant of the plaza signed the retraction letter before
midnight. After which, Fr. Balaguer handed it over to Fr. Pi, who in turn
submitted it to Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda.

On the other hand, Rafael Palma, a prominent Mason, disputed

the veracity of the document of the alleged retraction because it did not
reflect Rizal’s true character and beliefs. He regarded the resurrected
retraction story as a “pious fraud”. Where, according to his analysis, the
retraction of Rizal was hearsay with the following reasons: First, the
documents of retraction were kept secret so that no one except the
authorities was able to see it that time. Secondly, when the family of
Rizal ask for the original copy of the document as well as the certificate
of canonical marriage with Josephine Bracken, bot petitions were
denied. Filipinos and of what his conversion meant, no masses were
said for his soul or funeral held by Catholics. Notwithstanding that Rizal
was reconciled with the church, he was not buried in the Catholic
cemetery of Paco but in the ground, without any cross or stone to mark
his grave. And, in the entry of the entry in the book of burials of the
interment of Rizal’s body is not made on the page those buried on
December 30, 1896,
instead he was considered among persons died impenitent with no
spiritual aid. Lastly, there was no moral motive for the conversion.

To summarize, whether or not Jose Rizal retracted, the

researchers believe that the retraction document was more of Rizal's
moral courage in admitting his mistakes. Perhaps he retracted and
returned to his faith, but this does not diminish Rizal's stature as a great
hero with such greatness. As mentioned in the documentary "Ang
Bayaning Third World," Joel Torre's impersonation of Rizal told the time
travelers that whether he retracted or not, it did not change what he
had already done or what his writings had already accomplished.
Furthermore, former Senator Jose Diokno stated, "Surely, whether Rizal
died a Catholic or an apostate adds or subtracts nothing from his
greatness as a Filipino." Catholic or Mason, Rizal is still Rizal - the hero
who courted death "to prove to those who deny our patriotism that we
know how to die for our duty and our beliefs". Rizal remains Rizal, the
hero who courted death "to demonstrate to those who deny our
patriotism that we know how to die for our duty and our beliefs."

Are you convinced that Retraction of Rizal is true?

The authenticity of Jose Rizal's retraction document is also being hotly

debated. It was supposed to be signed by Jose Rizal just before his
death. There were numerous witnesses, the majority of whom were
Jesuits. ... However, only reproductions of the original document were
shown to the public.

Fr. Vicente Balaguer was born in Alicante, Spain, on January 19,

1851. He joined the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1890 and went to the
Philippines in 1894. Moreover, he was one of the Jesuit priests who
visited Rizal’s last hours in Fort Santiago and claimed that he managed to
persuade Rizal to denounce masonry and return to the Catholic fold. In
1917 when he had returned to Spain, an affidavit executed that proves
he was who solemnized the marriage of Jose Rizal and Josephine
Bracken.

Rafael Palma was born on October 24, 1874. He was a Filipino politician,
lawyer, writer, educator and a famous freemason. Additionally, he
became the fourth President of the University of the Philippines. He was
later elected as senator under the Nacionalista Party, consistently
representing the 4th District, in both the 1916 and 1919 senatorial polls.
Furthermore, he was the author of Biografia de Rizal, a work on the life
of the national hero which won a literary contest in 1938 sponsored by
the Commonwealth Government. The story of Rizal’s alleged retraction
is found in chapter 32 and 33 with his analysis in the latter chapter.