theology doesn't offer anything in way of explaining what we observe in and about the cosmos
It did, though. Since it was theologians who first opened the space to scientifically oriented questions about the cosmos, it is perhaps a matter of vanity on the part of the individual members that the Church no longer holds this field as a professional competence (as they used to), but have surrendered it. As it seems, they are reluctant to relinquish it, since they themselves have highly developed observatories, for example.
But then, I am not sure if theology should stay out of the field, since theologians seem to be quite verbally capable of arguing with those in the scientific realm who touch the most on the question of "how life/the universe came into being". Now, the natural order (if you believe in linear time) says: Religion was there, first.
Like in a family, you don't orient yourself towards the kid but the parent. Parents were there first and to turn this reality upside down creates these funny notions we are surrounded by today. One example is to want to let 16year olds vote for elections. In this sense, religion can be seen as the parent and science as its child.