Rizal's Retraction Scandal

Why was Rizal’s retraction document which was supposedly signed at 11:30 p.m. December 29, not immediately relayed to the highest authorities? Why wait until he had already been shot? What happened to the financial aid for Rizal’s distressed family offered by Fr. Balaguer as authorized by Archbishop Nozaleda on Dec. 29 in exchange for the alleged retraction? Would that proffered aid have made Rizal changed his mind when, years earlier, he had turned down the 100,000 pesos and a chair in UST offered to him by the friars for him to repudiate his Noli and Fili? After the so-called retraction’s text was read to the press, how come the document disappeared mysteriously in 1896, and then conveniently appeared again in 1935? How come the enlarged photo of Rizal’s execution ( displayed at Manila’s City Hall ) shows him to be without a scapular around his neck or a rosary in his hand, as Fr. Balaguer and his disciples like Catholic biographer Guerrero have written? If Rizal had retracted and despite his death sentence was still carried out, why was his corpse just bundled off in a dirty old sack? Why was it just dumped into a hole in the ground outside the consecrated niches of Paco cemetery? Was this the kind of proper Christian burial for Catholics who died repentant? Even Rizal’s mother and sisters knew not where Rizal’s corpse was to be located? If there was a canonical marriage between Josephine and Rizal, how come Josephine could never produce the certificate of marriage in spite of being required to do so in her two famous lawsuits for her rightful share of inheritance of Rizal’s Estate? If Rizal retracted because of love for Josephine, how come she was mentioned merely as a “sweet foreigner” in the Ultimo Adios? The shame in Rizal’s life was not the retraction of his deeds, writings, and conduct, because that never took place. The shame lies in Catholic historians and Catholic writers who believe not in Rizal’s life, work, and writings, but believed in his enemies – the Catholic friars who concocted sacred lies about him, belittled his intellect, assassinated his character and emasculated his last poetic testament. Indeed, the friars to this today in cahoots even with those who call themselves “Rizalists” or “Knights of Rizal” still deny Rizal’s legitimate place in the world as one of mankind’s greatest thinkers. Jose Rizal was a great man indeed. He tried to put so much beauty into the hearts and minds of Filipinos where the religious morons have only put infantile nonsense in this country. Rizal clearly saw in his day what is vaguely seen around us today: organized religion in cahoots with superstition flourishing hand in hand amidst filth, poverty, and human misery. What irked the friars was Rizal’s refusal to continue to have faith in Christianity at the expense of fearless, free, humanistic, and independent thought. If there’s life after death, it is great thinkers like Jose Rizal that I should wish to meet, shake hand, learn from, and be with. If I should just be thrown in the company of the frightened Knights of Rizal together with their Jesuit teachers, please Lord, take me back to God-forsaken Philippines. Poch Suzara