While Tony Blair mulls crossing the Tiber, some of his fellow Anglicans aren’t mulling. They’re ready to dive right in:

The College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) recently petitioned for “full, corporate, sacramental union” with the Roman Catholic Church recently.

The appeal for union was debated during a meeting of bishops in Portsmouth, England during the first week of October. It was delivered in a letter, which was signed by all the bishops present. The letter was delivered personally to the Holy See by the Most Rev. John Hepworth, Primate of TAC, and two other bishops selected by the college.

Bishop David Moyer, Bishop of the Armed Forces for the U.S. branch of TAC and rector of Good Shepherd Church, Rosemont, Pa., said the college agreed not to discuss the appeal or the contents of the letter until after the Vatican has responded. Customarily the Roman Catholic Church does not announce ahead of time when it will make a decision public.

With approximately 100 congregations in the U.S., the Anglican Church in America (ACA) is among the largest of several “Continuing Churches” which emerged from the Affirmation of St. Louis and the 1977 gathering of former Episcopalians and other Anglicans. The ACA is the American branch of TAC, a worldwide association of orthodox Anglican churches, working to maintain the catholic faith and resist the secularization of the Church. TAC claims more than 400,000 members on six continents.