Rizal

It is reported that the original text was published in La Voz Espanola and Diaro De Manila, dated December 30, 1896, the very day after Jose Rizal's death. A second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain in a magazine called La Juventud where in this reproduction, it was revealed that the source of the copy was from a Jesuit, Father Balaguer, who has maintained anonimity for 14 years after its public release. For the original text, no one has actually claimed witness to the retraction document except La Voz Espanola, stating that they have read Rizal’s “own hand writing” and was given to the Archbishop. There is much debate and controversy towards the retraction, though most historians and have deemed it to be false. Ricardo Lopez, author of “Rizal Beyond the Grave”, concludes that the handwriting in the said document was not Jose Rizal’s. Furthermore, he said there was no justification that Rizal’s remains were buried in holy ground, nor was there a certification of marriage between Rizal and Josephine Bracken. Senator Rafael palma, the former President of the University of the Philippines and a prominent Mason, strengthened this argument and stated that the retraction is in proportion with Rizal’s character and mature beliefs. Other known anti- retraction prominents are Frank Laubach, a well-known evangelical Christian missionary, Austin Coates, a British writer, and Ricardo Manapat, the Director of the National Archives.
Some also still argue that Rizal’s handwriting on the document and his catholic gestures before his death was witnessed and authentic. Teodoro Kalaw, 33rd degree mason and handwriting experts, H. Otley Beyer and Dr. Jose I. Del Rosario, both of UP, deemed that the retraction is genuine. It has also been stated that there were 11 eyewitnesses present during Rizal’s recital of Catholic prayers, signing of a Catholic prayer book, and the writing of his supposed retraction. The same witnesses also saw him kissing the crucifix before his untimely execution. Father Marciano Guzman, a great grand nephew of Rizal, divulged that Rizal confessed four times and was certified by 15 witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12 historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops Masons and anti-clericals.