You do realize Dante's Inferno (and Paradiso, etc.) are works of fiction.
I can't ask Dante why he put this or that into his works, or what he meant by the various symbology found in his magnum opus.
Unlike Scripture, however, Dante's Inferno has no special authority, nor can we say it's 100% without error.
I read the whole trilogy, but it was 25 years ago. I remember a lot of it being very lofty, abstract, and symbolic. Especially the Paradiso. I'm sure there are many parts that aren't meant to be taken as Catholic dogma.