Can we agree with Pope Benedict, then Ratzinger? In answer to the question, “Does the Holy Spirit pick the Pope?” btw, I’ll go back and check but I don’t think I said He did or that the conclave was infallible.
I would not say so, in the sense that the Holy Spirit picks out the Pope I would say that the Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator, as it were, leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us. Thus the Spirits role should be understood in a much more elastic sense, not that he dictates the candidate for whom one must vote. Probably the only assurance he offers is that the thing cannot be totally ruined.
I think the issue is: Are the Cardinals listening to the Holy Spirit?
Given the fact that most of them are Modernists, it’s highly doubtful.