The author proposes that the Catholic Church consider canonizing Filipino national heroes, Jose Rizal and Gomburza, for their sacrifices in fighting for Philippine independence.
It is not the easiest question to ask, but after the passage of more than 100 years, I believe someone should ask it on behalf of this predominantly Catholic nation. This involves elevating mere heroes into canonized saints. A question primarily, if not exclusively, addressed to the Church, and one it has not dealt with before.On Dec. 30, 1896, Dr.
Jose Rizal, our national hero, was executed by a Spanish firing squad for his body of work denouncing Spanish abuses in the Philippines and calling for freedom of all Filipinos. Twenty-four years before that, on Feb. 17, 1872, Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora — otherwise known as Gomburza, the portmanteau of their surnames — were executed by the same regime for allegedly instigating the short-lived Cavite mutiny at the Spanish arsenal, involving 200 Filipino military personnel and workers, on Jan. 20, 1872. The priests were garroted on orders of Spanish Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo without a fair trial.This martyrdom moved the doomsday clock against Spain. It launched the Propaganda Movement led by Rizal and other patriots living in Spain like Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Juan Luna, Antonio Luna and Pedro Paterno, and ultimately ignited Andres Bonifacio's revolt that ended in the declaration of independence of the Philippines from Spain on June 12, 1898. Rizal's 'Noli Me Tangere' and 'El Filibusterismo' (now available in Penguin) exposed the abuses of the Spanish colonial regime and earned him the charge of sedition that sent him before the firing squad at Bagumbayan. He dedicated the 'Fili' to the Gomburza martyrs.A grateful Filipino nation has honored Rizal and Gomburza as national heroes, but as a Catholic nation that holds the love of country as an indispensable part of the love of God, it may be time to start venerating in our altars the martyrs we venerate in their tomb
Filipino Heroes National Heroes Catholic Church Canonization Philippine Independence
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