ROME — Australians who were raped and molested by Catholic priests when they were children heard a top Vatican cardinal describe what he knew about their attackers when he testified Sunday before an investigative commission in Rome.

‘‘I’m not here to defend the indefensible,’’ Cardinal George Pell said. “The church has made enormous mistakes and is working to remedy those.’’

Two dozen Australian sex abuse survivors and their companions traveled to be on hand when Pell testified via video link before Australia’s Royal Commission.

It was the third time that the Australian cardinal, Pope Francis’ top financial adviser, has testified about the sex abuse scandal. The commission agreed to let Pell testify from Rome because he was too ill to travel home. It agreed to let victims be on hand to recreate the type of public hearing Pell would be face in Australia.

Associated Press