No Trid, I'm rejecting  your "have it both ways" logic when it comes to church teaching, because I think it presents an image of God that just makes no sense. A Spirit that would somehow protect what the church teaches, while ignoring the fate of 80-90% of Catholics presents a very stern, rigorous, rules driven God. A Spirit that is powerful enough to somehow keep church leaders free from error in teaching, is certainly also powerful enough to protect children, demand accountability, etc. 

I think that if there even IS an active Spirit in the church, such a Spirit will not be limited by man made rules, but will likely be more interested in compassion and the overall development of mankind than what any given pope may want. Such a Spirit will work through EVERY human, and thus church leadership must listen to the laity, to society, and not just themselves, if they truly hope to discern. If the Spirit protects teachings from error, She would likely also protect the kids Jesus so loved.