But there was no guarantee that no one would die before the Great Schism was sorted out. What of those poor people who died before it was sorted out?
It should be common sense that it's not incuмbent upon laymen to figure out the Pope question personally, and act on it CORRECTLY because if they get it wrong, they'll be damned.
That would be ridiculous. Most of the information is either above most laymen (requiring knowledge of theology, Canon Law, etc.), or inaccessible (what cօռspιʀαcιҽs have happened under cloak of darkness, etc.)
God is just. To suggest otherwise would be blasphemy.