Cardinal George Pell has defied criticism of the contentious Melbourne Response and claimed his 1996 intitiative was Australia's first comprehensive redress scheme for victims of clerical sexual abuse.

Appearing before the Royal Commission via video link from the Vatican, Cardinal Pell likened the Catholic Church's responsibility for child abuse to that of a "trucking company", whose driver had sexually assaulted a hitch-hiker.

"I don't think it appropriate for the leadership of that company to be held responsible...If every precaution has been taken, it's I think not appropriate for legal culpability to be foisted on the authority figures," Cardinal Pell said.

Sean Cash, a lawyer for abuse victim Paul Hersbach, challenged his trucking company analogy, saying that because the Catholic Church was an organisation of the "highest integrity" it had a far greater moral responsibility.