Case Study 3: Did Rizal retract?

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 has written 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 has written against the Church.

Primary Source: Rizal's Retraction

Source: Translated from the document found by Fr. Manuel Garcia C.M. on 18 May 1935

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.

 The first was published in La Voz Española and Diario de Manila on the day of
the execution, 30 December 1896.
 The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, on the magazine La Juventud, a
few months after the execution, 14 February 1897, from an anonymous writer who
was later on revealed to be Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
 However, the "original" text was only found in the archdiocesan archives on 18
May 1935, after almost four decades of disappearance.
The Balaguer Testimony
Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because only one eyewitness
account of the writing of the document exist 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 seem 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.

The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia

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.

Clarification: A police agent assigned to Rizal’s cell informed Moreno. Moreno wrote this
document to narrate what the police told him.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/594027/retraction-ni-jose-
rizal-mga-bagong-dokumento-at-pananaw/story/

Primary Source: Eyewitness Account of the Last Hours of Rizal

Source: Michael Charleston Chua, "Retraction ni Jose Rizal: Mga bagong dokumento at
pananaw." GMA News Online, published 29 December 2016.

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

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 (Josephine Bracken) 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 to
independence in 1898.