The sled was going down the hill anyway but without a doubt they greased the skids. A good many of them seem to have taken Vatican II to mean that they could become a separate US Catholic Church in name and just another liberal Protestant denomination in reality. Had it not been for the enthusiastic support of a good many Bishops, Priests, and Nuns, as well as a good percentage of the Catholic folks in the pews, our current situation would probably have been delayed but I'm not sure it could have been avoided altogether.
Regards
Thankfully, we are starting to see the begining of the needed corrections with the new 3rd Edition Roman Missal in English this past weekend. They may be what are called “baby steps”, but first steps neverless.