Firs of all, I find 'progressive', 'conservative' designations and labels not only useless but harmful. Pigeonholing somoene like that is the first step towards dehumanising, and creating grounds/justification for future abuse. 

Beyond that, Ratzinger together with Kung and Lubac, were all leading, cutting-edge theologians at Vatican II, who were instrumental in articulating many of the Council's teachings. So, you certainly cannot call Ratzinger "conservative" (whatever that means), when he praised Teilhard in his "Introduction to Christianity" in 1968.  The fact that he retained his admiration for Teilhard, only shown his consistency.