Brief Introduction

Since Rizal’s retraction letter was discovered by Father Manuel Garcia, C.M.
in 1935, its content has become a favorite subject of dispute among
academicians and Catholics. The letter, dated December 29, 1896, was said
to have been signed by the National Hero himself (Santos, 2011)

• Fr. Manuel Garcia discovered Rizal's retraction in May 18,1935 which was
dated Dec. 28, 1896 • Catholic Rizalists said it is affirmative

• Masonic Rizalists said it is negative

• Handwriting experts said it is genuine

• Rizal's masonry (David, 2021)

Rizal's Masonry

In 1883, when Jose Rizal was in Madrid, Spain, to study medicine, he made
the acquaintance of some liberal and republican Spaniards who were mostly
Masons (Odchimar III, 2024).

Rizal was impressed by the way the Spanish Masons openly and freely
criticized the Spanish government and the friars, which could not be done in
the Philippines (Odchimar III, 2024).

In March 1883, Rizal joined Logia Acacia No. 9 of the Gran Oriente de España
in Madrid, Spain. He pledged allegiance to a brotherhood that the Catholic
Church, more than a century earlier, had condemned as a “depraved and
perverted” secret society (Odchimar III, 2024).

On July 3, 1892, when Rizal returned to the Philippines, he organized the La

Liga Filipina (Odchimar III, January 2024).

On July 6, 1892, barely three days after forming La Liga Filipina, Governor-
General Despujol ordered the arrest of Rizal on trumped-up charges and
exiled him to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte (Odchimar III, 2024)

Affirmative

• His Roman Catholic Marriage to Josephine Bracken as attested to by the

witnesses

• The Retraction Document found in 1935 is considered the chief witness to

the reality of the retraction
• The testimony of the "eye witnesses" and other "qualified witnesses"
(David, 2021)

Negative

• There was a confession of the forger employed by the spanish friars

• No one claimed to have seen the original text except the publisher of La
Voz Española

• At least 4 texts had appeared and there are differences between the texts
discovered (David, 2021)

Comparison of hand Writing.

Here, the author, Ricardo R. Pascual, used a graph to compare Rizal's

handwriting in the retraction letter with his other writings from around the
same time. Primarily, two documents are compared: the last poem he wrote
for his loved ones, titled *Mi Ultimo Adios*, and the defense he wrote himself
for his court case, which he gave to his defender on December 25, the same
year he was executed. Other documents used for comparison include his
letters to Josephine and his mother.

Here, it was observed that even though a pencil was used in the defense, the
handwriting in this document is still closer to the other documents compared
to the retraction letter.

WRITING HABIT-It must be burned in mind that writing as well as

many other actions of human beings is done in an habitual, almost
automatic, manner. Especially with Rizal, who was a writer himself, we
naturally think that writing is something he could do fluently. However, we
must not forget that Rizal is human, so there may be variations in his
writings. But it is impossible for him to appear as if he is imitating his own
handwriting, which is what was observed in the retraction letter. I won't go
into detail on that.

The signature in the retraction letter, compared to the other documents (the
ones I mentioned earlier), is different. In the other documents, the signature
is continuous and written with thin strokes, while in the retraction letter,
there are broken lines that are not easily noticeable unless observed closely
and carefully. Some lines appear to be written continuously with thin strokes
to make them look connected. Suspiciously, the shading in the retraction
letter’s signature is also thicker, and it is longer as well.

The discontinuous writing can only be explained by the fact that the writer
made momentary stops to check their work or to figure out how to write the
next letters of the handwriting they were copying. Hence there is a forgery.

Pascual Quoted what Albert S. Osborn a document examiner of new

York said on his book Radiana , in its supplementary volume The
Doctrine of Coincidence “As ordinarily produced, they- simulated
and traced forgeries-also both require frequent slowing up of the
motion or actual stops to look at the copy or inspect the result or to
change the position of the hand.”

We can say that the comparisons of retraction letter to other documents is

an external comparison where we compare it to other documents.

Now let see the internal comparison

The signature of Jose Rizal was supposed to have been written by Rizal,
himself, and the signatures of the witnesses with their corresponding titles
above their names were supposed to be written by each individual witness,
himself. But here it was observed that the 3 signatures shows that it
have been written in the same tendencies. How shall we explain the
sameness in economy of finishing strokes, ellipticity, angularity of
connections, forms of many letters, even width of shaded and
pressed strokes, in tendency to go down in the alignment, and even
slant?

To argue that all these are just chance coincidence is indeed an

unbelievable chance, which is beyond mathematical possibility in a
case of three hands and in only one instance. There might be such
chance coincidence of one instance in a thousand times or probably
more, but not so in only one instance out of one instance and among
three hands.
What is even more questionable because it’s unbelievable is why the form of
the signatures and the handwriting of the person who wrote the letter are
unbelievably similar, yet the handwriting of the writer of the letter is different
from the other documents he wrote around the same time?

Statements of Miss Trinidad Rizal.

The statement of Trinidad Rizal a sibling of Jose Rizal came into the
possession of Pascual , the statement was not made that day which
is August 17 , 1935 but was signed by Trinidad Rizal on that date
waving Pascual to use it to reveal the truth. It was witnessed by Mr.
Guillermo Tolentino.

The statement actually secured first by Mr. Hermenegildo Cruz

which he referred in his articles in La Vanguardia, January 3, 1913.

Here she stated that December 29, between 7 PM and 8 PM she came in the
chapel to visit Rizal.

She denied that her brother ever mentioned an intention of returning to

Catholicism or marrying Josephine Bracken during those times.

The friars also did not speak about the retraction until after Rizal’s death.
They were even made to wait for the retraction letter during the mass on the
9th day after Rizal's death, but the mass ended, and no retraction letter was
given to them.

And she said that even she did not believe in the retraction letter.

Why did the Archbishop send the priest to Rizal for his spiritual··
assistance only. On the 29th day of December of 1896?

On November 3, 1896, Rizal was imprisoned, and on December 26 of the

same year, the sentence was pronounced. So why did the Friars only visit
him on December 29 to convince him to retract? Was it because he wasn’t
going to die on any other day except December 29? Was the spiritual
assistance meant only for those about to die and not for those who still
wanted to live?

Pascual in his book questions “What have they been doing before
that day·? Or is it our business to ask that question now? It is only
because we are interested to know whether they were really
interested to give him spiritual assistance. “

Because now the only thing we can think about is the question WHY?

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT OF DR. RIZAL’S CONVERSION

Pascual quoted in his book the definition of conversion for Professor

Jastrow in the Encyclopedia of Social Science , “Conversion applies
to a marked ‘change of heart’, an emotional regeneration, typically
sadden its advent or consummation, affecting radically the out look,
the inner adjustment and habits of life of an individual.”

On November 11, 1892, he wrote to Father Pastells from Dapitan:

“Life is very short, and the happiest (life) is very much Full of
bitterness, that in truth, it is not worth the pain of Sacrificing a
conviction for pieces of metal, rounded (money) or in the form of a
cross (!).”

In 1892, he wrote a farewell address to his countrymen saying:

“Besides, I wish to show those that deny us patriotism

that we know how to die for duty and principle.

“What matters death, if one dies for what one loves, For native land
and those dear to one?

“ . . . Always have I loved our unhappy land, and I Am sure I shall

continue loving it until my last moment, in case men prove unjust to
me. Life, career, happiness I Am ready to sacrifice for it
(country).”131

And ‘to his parents, on the same day, he wrote:

“A man ought to die for his duty and convictions.

“I hold fast tn every idea I have advanced as to the condition and

future of our country. I shall willingly die for it, Ar rl evE’n more
willingly die to secure for you justice and Peace.’,

And finally in his last moments after knowing that his end

Had ‘come, he SE’cretly and deliberately dispoi”ed his farewell

poem,

The”Ultimo Adios”, in which he reaffirmed his life-hleal, saying:

“Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress’d,

Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost;

Gladly now I go to give thee this jaded life’s best,

And wae it brighter, fresher, or more blest,

Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.”

This writings of Rizal are enough evidences that Rizal already know the goal
of his life which is to devote his life and all to his country and it’s people ,
and therefore is not seeking anything nor want anything. He had his own life
principle and ideals, he believed in god what more is there that will make
him retract?

“For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,

Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e’er on high !”

His poem in Mi Ultimo Adios showing he believed in God.

Pascual go to the extent of knowing what are the factors that might affect
Rizal’s decision and so this 6, conditions was presented by Pascual in his
book using the Encyclopedia Britannica as reference :

What are the conditions necessary to effect conversion?

Psychologically speaking, we here have the following conditions. In our

reference we are~given these Conditions:

“ ( 1) The presence of general religious tendencies derived either

from heredity, from the family or from early impressions.

This is indeed true for him. But the fact that his writings were against the
Church shows that he didn’t have religious tendencies. Yes, as a young boy
and during his adolescence, he was devout, but in his best and more mature
years, while he was abroad, he outgrew the thinking he had during his
younger years, using the extensive thinking and liberal education he gained
abroad.

(2) An habitual tendency of the intellect towards absolute

convictions.

(The constant tendency of believing something based on absolute belief or

judgment) — once it’s believed, it’s final. If it’s a pencil, then it's a pencil. But
for him, no — he will think first about what to believe before actually
believing in it.

(3) A tendency of the individual spontaneously to fix the attention

beyond and above the realities of the senses.

Dr. Jose Rizal was a practical idealist; he combined the two well. Dr. Jose Rizal
was an idealist because he thought of and imagined things that were
necessary for Filipinos at that time, but he was practical because he based
these ideas on proven facts and studies. He didn’t dream of something that
couldn’t be achieved. Based on his works, everything was grounded in reality
and human capabilities. Even Ibarra’s desire for revenge shows that you can
truly say, “Ah, he is only human.”

(4) A richness of affective potential or psychic energy held in

suspension by the individual.

He doesn’t held any suspension as he able to express the potential or

psychic energy through his works ,like novels, poem, and other writings and
art.

(5) The tendency of the individual to transfer his chief interests to

questions of origin, purpose, destiny, and so forth.

As to the fifth condition, as supported by his writings, that he did not center
his attention on questions of origin, purpose, and destiny.

(6) The recurrence of painful experiences.”

Sure, he experienced a lot of pain, but he doesn’t hold a grudge and knows
how to pardon those who hurt him more easily compared to how he is now.
Sure, the wound was intense, but it has healed because of the good
disposition that nature has gifted him. This comes from his letter to Father
Pastells.

Despite this Pascual said that there are other things need to consider in the
view of psychology. This are the fathers have chance since 26 th of December
to make Rizal convert yet they did not did it, was the order of Archbishop
important before they go and give spiritual aid the doomed man? Isn’t if
they made him retract much earlier and made it publish before his death the
letter will be beyond reasonable doubt? . And it will give him time to deny or
confirm it. Was it because “Dead man tell no tales”??

Most importantly it was not Rizal who benefited to it the most , it was the
people who gave the information. If they are not really that interested why
they need to require him to convert with signed document ? Is the words not
enough to be converted? Or if the document is important to the process then
WHY it was not taken carefully much worst they lost it suddenly just to be
found after 30+ yrs.

References

Odchimar III, Diego A(January 2024) - Jose Rizal's Retraction Controversy

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377470196_Jose_Rizal's_Retraction
_Controversy

David, Darlene D. (Dec 10, 2021) - The Retraction of Rizal

https://www.scribd.com/document/545974707/The-Retraction-of-Rizal-
doc-Copy

Santos, Tomas U. (October 4, 2011) - Rizal's Retraction: Truth vs. Myth David
https://varsitarian.net/news/20111004/rizals_retraction_truth_vs_myth

Pascual,R. (1935) Dr.Jose Rizal Beyond the Grave, a Vendication of the Martyr
of Bagumbayan.Manlapit Press.Manila,Philippines.
http://www.xeniaeditrice.it/rpascualocrpdf.pdf