Fr Reese is perhaps being a little optimistic in saying that only Pope Francis could get away with saying that the Church should not obsess over abortion, birth-control and same-sex 'marriage'. Orthodox Catholics who may well be in a minority in the First World and whom Fr Reese probably does not number amongst his acquaintances, are scandalised by these remarks.
What he is saying is that Catholics ought not to focus too much upon behaviours which lead to the loss of souls: the deliberate murder of innocent, unborn children, the thwarting of God's gift to mankind for its propagation in obedience to His invitation to 'increase and multiply' and the sin referred to in Scripture as an abomination.
When Fr Reese says only he, Pope Francis, could "get away with it", was he talking about getting away with it in this world or the next? Perhaps the bishops are more concerned with their salvation than being media darlings.