Did Jose Rizal retract?

No, Rizal did not. Although there were many opinions and evidence presented by different authors
whether Rizal appealed or not. So far, however, there is no evidence or justification for ending the
debate. The following statements bring testimony that Rizal did not retract before his execution. The
first was a copy of a retraction paper purportedly signed by Rizal, which was even kept secret and
published only in newspapers. When Rizal's family asked for the original copy, they were told that it had
been lost. Could the Jesuits have been so irresponsible that they did not know the value of paper? Or
was it just hidden? 39 years later, the original copy was found in the archdiocesan archives. Ricardo
Pascual Ph. D, who received permission from Archbishop Nozaledo to examine the document and later
concluded in his book "Rizal beyond the grave" that the documents presented were forgeries. The usual
rebuttal to this argument was that either Father Balaguer or Father Pi had made mistakes in reproducing
another copy of the original.

Another proof that Rizal did not recant is that when Father Balaguer agreed to marry Jose and
Josephine, after Jose signed the revocation document, no marriage certificate or public record was
presented to prove Father Balaguer's statement. Why would Rizal appeal when he knows for sure that
even if he signs the appeal paper, he will be executed? Because the archbishop and the Jesuits could do
nothing to mitigate his punishment, since the trial was a purely military tribunal where civil or
ecclesiastical interference was unusual and not allowed. Rizal was accused of engaging in filibuster
propaganda, where the penalty under the Spanish Code is death. The same thing that happened to the
three priests who were imprisoned years ago, even though they were still part of the church; they were
still treated as rebels and were also not given a proper burial.