Nothing has changed! Most Catholics think that Vatican II did away with the requirement of not eating meat on any Friday of the year. Most think it is now just Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent that we cannot eat meat.
This is what the new Code of Canon Law brought out in 1983 says about the matter:
Canon 1251
Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Canon Law still requires that Catholics not eat meat on Fridays!
Of course, most Episcopal Conferences have determined that, instead of abstaining from meat, Catholics may perform an act of penance of their choosing. But, do you ever remember to abstain from a particular food or do some other penance on Fridays? And, at any rate, the main rule is still to abstain from meat on Fridays, the performance of another penance instead is an optional alternative.
IMHO, with the expansion of travel, be it for personal or business, more and more Catholics found themselves in situations where the only menu choice was meat. The Church, acknowledging that her children were now adults, lovingly provided them with alternative choices, without abandoning the principle reason for the discipline. Unfortunately, most Catholics learned about this via the msm which did not handle it properly. They were quick to report that "Catholics can now eat meat on Fridays!" but failed to communicate the purpose for the discipline or the fact that it had not been abandoned. I was quite young at the time and still recall hearing the news on tv. I don't recall any attempt by the Church to clarify this but then, I was a child and did not read the diocesan newspaper or pay much attention to announcements at mass.
OK, so things did change then, didn't it? Now Catholics have a choice. In the 1917 Code of Canon Law they did not have a choice. Catholics were not permitted to eat meat on Fridays. In fact, a Catholic wasn't allowed to have soup made with meat broth.
To say that "the Church acknowledges her children are now adults and lovingly provides them with alternative choices" insinuates a couple of things: (1) that before the Church treated them like children and (2)that the Church did not act "lovingly" because it didn't give us a choice.
Compared to the other changes that do come directly from Vatican II, this abstinence change is not high on my list of concerns, but your comments about what the Church did in the past compared to the present are interesting.