Rizal As A Mason: Never Retracted But Remained One

"Masonry will teach and advocate the noble principles of independence, brotherhood and equality among peoples and inherent within them are the values that will cease the conflict among men, correct the abuses and bring about the reign of righteousness which has been the dream of all great men of the world," remarked Dimasalang, who is likewise considered one of those greats he was referring to in his statement. Simply because we recognize him as our National Hero and a staunch member of the controversial fraternity of the French Masonry. Rizal’s membership in the fraternity was deemed of significant importance to him, as its values sustained his principles and beliefs such as the separation of the Church and State, education for the youth and religious freedom.


In Rizal’s novels and writings, it was not the Church he was against with but the friars who knowingly misrepresented themselves as holier than thou. Christianity, according to him, is the only religion supposed to inherit all the pure intentions of all the various religions, hence he finds it difficult to comprehend the appalling condition of the country under the rule of these people who are supposed to be advocates of Christian values. According to him, killing people with different religious inclinations became an effective resort.


Rizal was among those Catholics who were excommunicated by the Church since 1738 for simply being a Mason and were not entitled to the Blessed Sacraments. This is why his body was lain in an unnamed and unmarked grave in Paco Cemetery in 1896. This is quite confusing, however, because had Rizal actually signed his retraction, the friars would have given him the proper burial he deserves. Yet, this did not happen until his remains were eventually transferred to Luneta in 1911 by his brothers in the Fraternity.


The retraction issue came about and was led by Fr. Vicente Balaguer, a Jesuit, who was not even a teacher of Rizal in Ateneo, nor, more importantly according to the report of the local publication in Bagumbayan then, had a glimpse of the room where Rizal was held or was he even present on that religious debate the day before Rizal was executed. This report was initially released by Balaguer in Spain while the real witness, Fr. Frederico Faura was still alive. The report however, was only released in the Philippines after Fr. Faura passed away, a good twenty years after Rizal’s own death. Even the perceived glory and honor of the responsibility of having obtained Rizal’s alledged retraction was contested over by the friars. In 1901, the Filipinos demanded for the copy of the retraction and having none to show, the Church accepted that it did not actually exist. Yet, in 1935, Fr. Manuel Garcia claimed that he had discovered the true copy from the Archbishop’s Palace, however, the date in the document was December 19, 1890, casting further doubt as the citizenry know very well that Rizal died in 1896.


Except for these evidences, Rizal’s genuine emotions in his writings cannot be suppressed as in his poem, Last Farewell: "I shall be where no slaves bow to a master; where faith does not kill and where God is the only One Supreme." This, unarguably is the message for all Masons and readers, that until his ultimate hour, the heroe’s self conviction remained steadfast and unrelenting.


Footnotes:
Fajardo, Reynaldo S. Dimasalang: The Masonic Life of Dr. Jose Rizal. Calasiao, Pangasinan: CMN Printing Co., Inc., 1999.
Nicolas, J. Flor R. "Editorial: What Signify the Martyrdom of Dr./Bro. Jose Rizal and the Execution of the Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan?" The Cable Tow. Volume 73, No. 5. January-February (1997): pp. 3-4.
Rizal, Jose P. "Virtue: Most Important Theme of Masonry." The Cable Tow. Volume 73, No. 5. January-February (1997): pp. 14-17. Locsin, Enrique L. "Rizal: An Intellectual Descendant of Bruno." The Cable Tow. Volume 75, No. 6. March-April (1999): pp. 12-16. Bacobo, Dean Jorge. "Commentary: Rizal, excommunicated Mason and national hero." The Philippine Daily Inquirer. 29 December 2004.
Lardizabal, Jhoanna R. "Rizal as a Martyr." A Research Paper. 19 August 2002.