Pope Francis Backs Down in Clash Over Nigerian Bishop

ROME—Pope Francis removed an unpopular Nigerian bishop after five years of protests by local priests, in an extraordinary reversal that showed the limits of the pope’s power over his own hierarchy and the continuing challenge of ethnic divisions in Africa, the church’s fastest-growing region.

The Vatican announced Monday that the pope had accepted the resignation of Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke of the diocese of Ahiara, who had been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in December 2012, but who had been prevented by local clergy...