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their own decisions to ensure that the individual’s wishes which have been stated are safeguarded and upheld.
In the context of religious communities, the provisions of the Act can be used to ensure that the wishes of a religious can be ful lled in a care or medical environment.
All religious communities should take care, when an individual religious loses capacity, to understand who has authority to speak on behalf of the religious and, where appropriate, take professional advice if there are concerns. If the religious has not appointed someone to speak on their behalf, then the religious community cannot automatically assume that role falls to the religious community. In some rare cases it may be necessary to apply the provisions
of the Act and appoint an independent advocate to speak on behalf of the religious (for example when making major life changing decisions such as deciding to put the religious into care).
HOW ARE DECISIONS MADE?
The Act provides that whenever a decision is made for someone else who lacks capacity, there are ve main principles that must be followed:
Principle one
It should be assumed that everyone has capacity to make his or her own decisions, unless it is proved otherwise.
Principle two
A person should have all the help and support possible to make and communicate their own decision before anyone concludes that they lack capacity to make their own decision.
Principle three
A person should not be treated as lacking capacity just because they make an unwise decision.
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