An 84-year-old retired bishop of Albany, who has been accused of sexual abuse and has unsuccessfully sought to be removed from the priesthood, said Tuesday he recently married a woman in a civil ceremony.

Emeritus Bishop Howard Hubbard made the surprise announcement during a tumultuous time for the Albany diocese. It filed for bankruptcy this year after a surge of lawsuits from people who say they endured sexual abuse as children, sometimes decades ago.

The current bishop of the upstate New York diocese said it did not consider Hubbard’s marriage to be valid.

Hubbard, who retired in 2014, has acknowledged covering up allegations of abuse by priests, in part to avoid scandal. He has adamantly denied accusations that he abused minors.OTHER NEWS

Hubbard last fall said he wanted to be laicized, or returned to the lay state, because he could no longer function as a…