1) I think the quote on pg. 556-557 is spot on: "Like the body of Satan, it is a representation of both the history of mankind and its present state, expressed in terms of the human body." In other words, as long as there have been materials and any kind of wealth, greed is created. Greed creates consequences for the entire world, and so the statue is representative of humanity's greed as well as the pain it causes that is unceasing because the lesson is never learned.
5) If someone were to overestimate the piety that is found in past centuries, then perhaps that person would also gawk at Dante's criticism of the church. But it is not surprising considering there were always power struggles with the church, so difference of opinion over just how holy its leaders are is to be expected. Dante makes it a point to distinguish between God and his followers--he is well-read and informed for the times so he knows that people, even when they are Christian, do not follow a Christ-like example, which is the exact point of the journey into Hell.
Dante is there so that he will learn what kinds of behaviors are not in the example if Jesus. And many times the audience sees that he is not beyond compassion for some of the damned souls, such as his reverence towards the homosexuals in Canti 15 and 16, as well as in several earlier chapters.
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